Humanoid robots controlled by surgeons did world-first operation on live pigs
The trial found the compact robots matched established systems in precision while requiring less space and lower cost, researchers said.
- In a world first, UCSD engineer Michael Yip and his team successfully completed teleoperated humanoid robot surgeries, performing gallbladder removals on non-primate mammals during a preclinical trial.
- Current robotic surgery systems weigh around 1,800 pounds and require purpose-built operating rooms, making them costly and difficult to deploy outside major medical centers.
- Surgie robots, standing about 5 feet tall and weighing 60 pounds, performed one procedure with a human assistant and another as a pair of autonomous units.
- Technical challenges including recalibration and latency issues persisted during procedures, though researchers note such limitations are common in early surgical technologies like robotic laparoscopy.
- Assistant Professor of Surgery Shanglei Liu envisions operating theaters where humanoid robots and humans work as integrated teams, deployable to rural areas, battlefields, and space.
32 Articles
32 Articles
US scientists use Chinese humanoid robot to carry out keyhole surgery
US scientists have carried out keyhole surgery with a Chinese-made robot taking the place of the lead surgeon. The general-purpose humanoid robot made by Unitree Robotics was remotely controlled by two human surgeons as it successfully removed a pig’s gallbladder at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Another robot also played a support role during the procedure, controlling the endoscope used to monitor the operation and retracting t…
Humanoid robots controlled by surgeons did world-first operation on live pigs
Humanoid robots have surgically removed the gallbladders from living animals in an unprecedented medical experiment—but not as autonomous machines capable of replacing human doctors. Instead, skilled human surgeons remotely controlled the robots’ movements in a new example of human-robot teamups. The teleoperated humanoid robots completed two minimally invasive surgeries by removing gallbladders from live pigs during a preclinical trial that was…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

















