Robot with sense of touch to allow surgeons to operate remotely

During keyhole surgery, surgeons typically rely on sight as they remotely control the delicate operation. 

A new robot promises to give them one important extra sense: touch.

The invention, revealed Wednesday at the Australasian Simulation Congress in Melbourne, Australia, is called the HeroSurg. Created by a team at Australia's Deakin University, as well as Harvard University, the robot may look a little terrifying but its inventors hope it will make operations safer and more accurate.

Unlike most current keyhole surgery tools, the robot uses haptic feedback to deliver a sense of touch to the operator, as well as 3D images so the surgeon can see where their instruments are placed. Read more...