Da Vinci surgical robot makes a tiny paper airplane

paper airplane
This image taken from the video below shows da Vinci's robotic grippers making a paper airplane. Image credit: Swedish Medical Center.

(PhysOrg.com) -- The da Vinci surgical robot may be best known for performing prostate, gynecological, and heart valve surgeries. But in its spare moments, as Dr. James Porter of the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle has recently demonstrated, the da Vinci robot can also make and fly paper airplanes.

In the video below, Porter shows how the precise movements of the robotic grippers can be used to fold the tiny creases on a very basic paper airplane, which is about the size of a penny. Porter controls the robotic grippers with joystick-like hand controllers while looking at a 3D image on a viewfinder. The system translates the surgeon’s movements into more precise micro-movements while reducing any shaking.

Dr. James Porter folds a paper airplane using the da Vinci surgical robot.

Currently, 1,000 of the $1.3-million da Vinci robots are being used worldwide to perform surgeries. Among the advantages of the system are that many procedures that traditionally require large incisions can now be made minimally invasive, and many patients have shorter recovery times.

More information:
via: IEEE Spectrum

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Citation: Da Vinci surgical robot makes a tiny paper airplane (2011, April 5) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2011-04-da-vinci-surgical-robot-tiny.html
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