While so-called surgical robots have been around for a few years now, they are really not robots at all, but rather remotely controlled machines that faithfully execute the commands of their masters. For robots to be real robots, they have to be autonomous and able to do tasks without much operator input. True surgical robots can help bring forth a future in which tele-surgery is possible and where physicians don’t have to deal with routine tasks such as suturing and debridement. Researchers at UC Berkeley have been working on getting a da Vinci surgical system to be smart enough to do some basic tasks on its own. Here’s a video report from the research team presenting a few capabilities the system can do already:
Link: Cal-MR: Center for Automation and Learning for Medical Robotics…
(hat tip: SurgRob)