A Unified Framework for the Teleoperation of Surgical Robots in Constrained Workspaces
This work addresses the challenge of case-specific solutions in surgical robotics, aiming to improve reproducibility for surgeons in constrained scenarios like pediatric surgery.
The authors tackled the problem of teleoperating surgical robots in constrained workspaces by proposing a unified control framework that works for any robot geometry, achieving smooth teleoperation in experiments with both redundant and non-redundant robotic systems for adult laparoscopy and infant surgery.
In adult laparoscopy, robot-aided surgery is a reality in thousands of operating rooms worldwide, owing to the increased dexterity provided by the robotic tools. Many robots and robot control techniques have been developed to aid in more challenging scenarios, such as pediatric surgery and microsurgery. However, the prevalence of case-specific solutions, particularly those focused on non-redundant robots, reduces the reproducibility of the initial results in more challenging scenarios. In this paper, we propose a general framework for the control of surgical robotics in constrained workspaces under teleoperation, regardless of the robot geometry. Our technique is divided into a slave-side constrained optimization algorithm, which provides virtual fixtures, and with Cartesian impedance on the master side to provide force feedback. Experiments with two robotic systems, one redundant and one non-redundant, show that smooth teleoperation can be achieved in adult laparoscopy and infant surgery.