Autonomy is the next frontier of research in robotic surgery and its aim is to improve the quality of surgical procedures in the next future.

One fundamental requirement for autonomy is advanced perception capability through vision sensors.

In this article, we propose a novel calibration technique for a surgical scenario with a da Vinci® Research Kit (dVRK) robot. Camera and robotic arms calibration are necessary to precise position and emulate expert surgeons. The novel calibration technique is tailored for RGB-D cameras.

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The 10th Edition of the Conference on New Technologies for Computer and Robot Assisted Surgery (CRAS)

CRAS 2020 is the 10th edition of this successful event, formerly labeled as a workshop, from this 10th edition onwards CRAS has graduated and will continue to move forward as a`conference’.

Surgical robotics is a key factor for the introduction of new surgical procedures not feasible otherwise, as well as for improving current procedures by providing new assistive tools that allow achieving more precision and higher surgical performances.

Robotics breaks into the Operating Room in an effective way in the XXI century and its progress, although still slow, has already reached a figure of 10.000 operation robots in hospitals worldwide. This year’s edition, coinciding with the CRAS 10th anniversary, will evidence an explosion of new surgical robots and other devices in different specialties, which, until now, were produced by very few manufacturers. This market expansion will break with the otherwise slow progress and will favor reaching a wider range of clinical centers.

In this edition communications are expected on advances in the following fields: virtual and augmented reality techniques applied to training, planning and assisted guidance; new techniques to introduce effective haptic feedback; new devices, technologies and procedures for less invasive surgery and to facilitate the execution of complex surgical tasks; and artificial intelligence for planning, guidance and autonomous operations.

IMPORTANT DATES

Deadline for extended abstracts: 30 June 2020

Notification of acceptance: 31 July 2020

Deadline for submission of revised abstracts 14 September 2020

For information and application visit the official web site of CRAS 2020

The Hamlyn Symposium

• World-leading medical, research, industry & academic experts
• Leaders’ Forum on technology application in clinical practice

The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics (HSMR) provides an annual forum for surgeons and engineers from across the globe, to network and explore the latest developments in medical robotics.

During the week of 9 to 13 July 2018, 26 attendees and 16 speakers from mostly all continents met in Verona to attend COSUR 2018.

COSUR is at its second edition and it is a biannual Summer School on Control of Surgical Robots organized by ALTAIR Robotics laboratory in collaboration with the Horizon 2020 projects ARS (Autonomous Robotic Surgery) and SARAS.

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2nd Biannual Summer School on Control of Surgical Robots

(COSUR) 2018

The main objective of COSUR 2018 is to introduce PhD students and Post-Doctoral fellows to the multidisciplinary research field of surgical robotics, with particular focus on the control algorithms used in robotic surgery and the impact of cognition in directing the control.

We will offer lectures, hands-on laboratory experience, and opportunity for informal interaction with clinicians and leading experts from academia and industry.

The school will go beyond the current approach of doctoral schools and will give trainees an in depth understanding of cognition and control in robotic surgery.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM

The main themes faced during the school include:

• Control and Sensing in robotic surgery
• Teleoperation and Haptics
• Image-guided robotic surgery and interventions
• Human-Robot Interaction and Cooperation
• Partially autonomous tasks in robotic surgery

Besides the technical aspects, the lecturers of the school will present the medical context in which robotic surgery is being used and the research perspective given by relevant projects.

The school will include tutorial presentations on the technical topics, medical scenarios presented by clinicians, research perspectives given by the coordinators of recently funded projects, and laboratory sessions that will let students apply the concepts introduced during the lectures.

The school will end with a team project, which will be evaluated by the school lecturers. Students will receive a certificate of attendance, to obtain credits in their universities.

Organised by Altair Robotics Lab, in collaboration with the ERC project ARS (Autonomous Robotic Surgery) and the European project SARAS (Smart Autonomous Robotic Assistant Surgeon).

The school is funded by the ARS project, the SARAS projects, the MURAB project, the Doctoral Program in Natural Sciences and Engineering and the Department of Computer Science of the University of Verona.

The European Robotics Forum (ERF2018), the most influential meeting of the robotics community in Europe, will be held in Tampere, Finland, on 13-15 March 2018.

Over 800 European robotics top experts are expected to attend the conference. Under the theme “Robots and Us”, ERF2018 covers current societal and technical themes related to the field of robotics. Interesting subjects will be discussed, including human-robot-collaboration and how robotics can improve industrial productivity and service sector operations.

Researchers, engineers, managers, and a growing number of entrepreneurs, business people, and public funding officers from all over Europe come together to discuss technology push and market pull and how innovation in robotics can be accelerated.

ERF2018 features an exhibition, where companies, universities and research institutes showcase the most advanced European prototypes, products, projects and services.

ERF2018 is not another scientific conference but the one event where roboticists from over 40 countries can network, during the social events as well. After its start in San Sebastian in 2010, The European Robotics Forum has become quickly the most popular and influential robotics networking event in Europe.

Conference Materials:

Projects presentations at the Workshop on Networking for new trends in surgical robotics

Speaker: Riccardo Muradore, University of Verona, Italy

Gallery: