ABSTRACT
Autonomy in robotic devices is the new challenge of many areas of robotics research, from humanoid to autonomous car development. Although particularly difficult, research in robotic surgery is addressing the development of autonomous robotic systems that can supplement and integrate the work of a surgeon. Their purpose is not to replace any member of a surgical team, but to support the execution of specific tasks and to reduce physical fatigue and cognitive load of the team, thus the effectiveness of the interface to an autonomous surgical robot will be crucial to achieve this goal. In this chapter, we summarize the results of the recently concluded European project “Intelligent Surgical Robot” (I-SUR), which explored the needs and developed a feasibility proof of autonomous surgical tasks in the context of cancer treatment. In particular, we addressed the autonomous execution of puncturing and suturing, which are common actions during the execution of any surgery. The project was very successful but the road to the effective use of autonomous surgical robots will still be long and difficult. In this chapter, we specifically address the issues involved in the interaction of an autonomous system with its human user and define the needs of an effective human interface.
