A Robotic Enhancement System for Endoscopic Surgery

An innovative man-machine interface will lead to the growth of a new class of robotic systems. These new systems are designed to work with the operator to provide him additional degrees of freedom and perceptive capability. The resulting system will perform tasks beyond the capability of either the man or the machine alone. Our hypothesis is that the interface is the critical component of these systems. The interface we propose will integrate voice recognition, image processing, eye tracking and force feedback technologies. The goal is to devise an interface that is as seamless and as intuitive as possible. A number of applications will be possible with such an interface. For example, an astronaut could use micro manipulators as "additional arms" when performing repairs in space. He could control these manipulators to work in tandem with his own arms to accomplish tasks that might otherwise require several people. Our initial application of this technology is in endoscopic surgery. With robotic enhancement, the surgeon will be able to control an endoscope and three surgical tools simultaneously.