Abstract

The lecture will review the basic motivations to introduce some level of autonomy in robotic surgery and the supporting technologies to reach autonomy. The technologies will be presented in the context of the European project ARS and the latest results will be discussed. Furthermore I will discuss the potential impact of autonomy on cost reduction of medical robotics and I will present the results of a project to develop a simple robot for prostate biopsy.  I will also address additional points, e.g. the importance and use of simulation in autonomous robotic surgery, how haptics can support the transition from autonomy to manual control, and the concept of safety as an emerging systemic property.

Biography

Paolo Fiorini, received the Laurea degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Padova, (Italy), the MSEE from the University of California at Irvine (USA), and the Ph.D. in ME from UCLA (USA). From 1977 to 1985 he worked for companies in Italy and in the USA developing microprocessor-based controllers for domestic appliances, automotive systems, and hydraulic actuators. From 1985 to 2000, he was with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, where he worked on autonomous and teleoperated systems for space experiments and exploration. In 2001 returned to Italy at the School of Science and Engineering of the University of Verona (Italy) where is currently Full Professor of Computer Science. In 2001 he founded the ALTAIR robotics laboratory to develop innovative robotic systems for space, medicine, and logistics. Research in these areas have been funded by several National and International projects, including the European Framework programs FP6, FP7, H2020 and ERC. His activities have been recognized by many awards, including the IEEE Fellow (2009), and NASA Technical Awards.