UC San Diego Uses Teleoperated Humanoid Robots for Live Surgery in World First
Two teleoperated Unitree G1 humanoids performed live gallbladder surgeries on non-primate mammals at UC San Diego, the first in-vivo demonstration of humanoid robots in the operating room.
Key Takeaways
UC San Diego completed the first in-vivo demonstration of humanoid robots in surgery, with two teleoperated Unitree G1 humanoids performing live gallbladder removals on non-primate mammals, published in the July 8 issue of Nature.
The 5-foot, 60-pound robots, nicknamed 'Surgie,' were fitted with adapters to grip standard laparoscopic instruments and controlled via motion capture, tracking systems and foot pedals from UC San Diego's ARCLab teleoperation console.
One procedure was performed by a human-robot pair and a second by two humanoids working side by side.
Humanoids offer advantages over ~1,800-pound specialised surgical systems: they fit existing OR workflows, are cheaper for remote or field settings, and could handle support tasks like fetching tools, per senior author Michael Yip.
Latency and repeated recalibration slowed the procedures, but the team expects rapid improvement, comparing it to the first robotic laparoscopic surgery shrinking from six hours to 30 minutes.
Kaan Tınmaz
UC San Diego surgeons and engineers have used two teleoperated humanoid robots to perform live surgeries in a preclinical trial, the first in-vivo demonstration of humanoid platforms in the operating room. The team, publishing in the July 8 issue of Nature, completed a gallbladder removal with a human-robot pair and a second procedure with two humanoids working side by side.
How the setup works
The 5-foot, 60-pound robots — nicknamed "Surgie" and based on the Unitree G1 humanoid platform — were fitted with adapters so they could grip standard laparoscopic instruments. Surgeons controlled both arms in real time using motion capture, tracking systems and foot pedals from a teleoperation console developed at UC San Diego's Advanced Robotics and Controls Lab (ARCLab).
Why humanoids in the OR
Specialised robotic surgery systems weigh about 1,800 pounds and require operating rooms retrofitted to accommodate them. Humanoids fit in with existing workflows, are cheaper to deploy in remote or field settings, and could eventually handle both surgical and support tasks such as fetching tools and cleaning the room, said senior author Michael Yip, a professor at UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering.
What's next
Latency and repeated recalibration slowed the procedures, but the team expects both to improve rapidly, just as the first robotic laparoscopic surgery took six hours before shrinking to 30 minutes. The work extends UC San Diego's push into embodied surgical AI, and adds to a broader wave of humanoid-in-healthcare pilots, including YY Group's G1 facility deployments and Israel's autonomous medical systems sandbox. Global rivals such as Neura Robotics are also pushing humanoids toward complex service tasks after their $1.4B Series C.
Reporting based on coverage from UC San Diego News, Nature, Medical Xpress and Popular Science.
What robots were used in the UC San Diego surgeries?
Two teleoperated humanoids based on the Unitree G1 platform, nicknamed 'Surgie.' Each is 5 feet tall and 60 pounds, fitted with adapters to grip standard laparoscopic instruments.
How did surgeons control the humanoid robots?
Surgeons controlled both robot arms in real time using motion capture, tracking systems and foot pedals from a teleoperation console developed at UC San Diego's Advanced Robotics and Controls Lab (ARCLab).
Why use humanoid robots instead of dedicated surgical systems?
Specialised robotic surgery systems weigh about 1,800 pounds and need retrofitted operating rooms. Humanoids fit existing workflows, are cheaper to deploy in remote or field settings, and could also handle support tasks like fetching tools and cleaning the room.
What limitations did the trial reveal?
Latency and repeated recalibration slowed the procedures, but the team expects both to improve quickly, noting the first robotic laparoscopic surgery took six hours before dropping to 30 minutes.
