Some experts believe that service robots will change the world the same way the personal computer did 30 years ago.
The field is relatively new, so the definition of “service robot” is still up for discussion, but it is generally considered to be a robot that is not installed in an industrial setting.
New sensors and processes that provide real-time environment monitoring in 3-D must not only prevent collisions during manipulation but also identify and learn new objects. The increasing use of service robots in everyday environments ultimately calls for new user interfaces that can take into account the full range of communications channels.
“The biggest challenge is to cope with the dynamic and unpredictable environment of service robots,” Fischer said. “Compared to industrial robots, the environment is totally undefined
Surgeons have developed new minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques and instruments so that procedures that would previously have required a large incision can now be performed through a tiny 10mm cut.
University of Western Ontario and Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics (CSTAR) in London, Ontario
The researchers used a torque sensor to measure the force of the palpations.
Using tactile MIS sensing instruments under robotic control reduces the maximum force applied to the tissue by over 35% compared to a human controlling the same instrument. Accuracy in detecting the tumours was also far greater with the robot - between 59 and 90% depending on the robot control method used for palpation.
If developed further, the authors suggest that this type of instrument would particularly benefit surgeons performing lung tumour resection, where tissue often shifts significantly.
Right man! It's interesting to see that these instruments are also needed to almost all robot-assisted surgery procedures. So it's more than just brain manual surgery.
