Surgery in simulated spacecraft
April 20, 2007
University of Washington’s Raven to try surgery in simulated spacecraft
If you thought ASTRO and NextSat were the only two autonomous robots frolicking around in testing environments, Raven would certainly beg to differ, as NASA has recently announced that the University of Washington’s mobile surgical robot will soon be off to tackle surgical tasks whilst underwater. The 12th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations test will see the mechanical MD pick up the tools in a simulated spacecraft submerged near Key Largo, Florida, where the “mission will test current technology for sending remote-controlled surgical robotic systems into space.” Thanks to a combination of wired and wireless networks, a trio of seasoned veterans back in Seattle will be dictating the movements remot ely, as the bot attempts to “suture a piece of rubber and mo! ve block s from one spindle to another.” Interestingly, there was no word on whether Raven was scheduled to pick up the night shift at Seattle Grace upon its return from the depths.
[Via MedLaunches]
