Robotics in Urology: No More Shadows?

Robotic surgery saw unprecedented success throughout the world, with urology as a key discipline. Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and partial nephrectomy (RAPN) were the frontline procedures. Many other urologic procedures have since been standardized over time. However, there is no universal consensus in current research on the recognition of robotics as the standard of care. Although better operative outcomes have been reported for most robotic procedures compared to open and laparoscopic surgery, no superiority has been proven as far as oncologic outcomes are concerned. This review aims to describe current research on robotic surgery concerning each urologic procedure, showing its applications and limits. The non-classic parameters in part responsible for the planetary success of robotics, such as the shorter learning curve, improved ergonomics, and surgeon’s comfort, as well immersive three-dimensional vision, are further areas of focus.

Application of three-dimensional vision perception technology to industrial robots

The three-dimensional vision system can improve the active perception ability of the robot, and then guide its flexible operation. This system has been widely used in industrial production processes, such as disorderly sorting, assembly, flexible welding, and defect detection. In sorting, assembly and other applications, accurate perception in a complex and changeable industrial environment is essential. Moreover, the control and other operations should be completed under the guidance of feedback information based on the collected three-dimensional perception results. Nonetheless, improvements are still required, such as accurate three-dimensional detection and positioning of work-in-progress and autonomous guidance in a complicated industrial context with continuous changes.

How to Understand the End of Conflict? Addressing a Theoretical Context from Zartman’s Theory and a “Three-Dimensional” View

Based on the assumption that each armed conflict has different origins, the end of the conflict corresponds to a cessation of hostile activities and the beginning of a peace process. However, recognizing when the parties immersed in a conflict have the will to negotiate is a complex issue to understand. In this sense, this article addresses Zartman’s theory of maturation to increase the understanding of the elements necessary for the parties to come together and resolve their conflicts. The novelty of this article is that it complements such a theory with a three-dimensional vision of the end of the conflict, that is, military, political and economic dimensions. Based on a bibliographic review, the main conclusion is linked to the possibility of providing the understanding of conflicts with some arguments through the theory of Zartman’s ripening; however, this still has limitations in the sense that such a moment of ripening does not guarantee that the conflict will be solved, nor does it offer a look at it before reaching that moment, but it is possible to observe it only after it passes, giving rise to new investigations that go deeper into those gaps.

High-precision robotic assembly system using three-dimensional vision

The design of a high-precision robot assembly system is a great challenge. In this article, a robotic assembly system is developed to assemble two components with six degree-of-freedoms in three-dimensional space. It consists of two manipulators, a structured light camera which is mounted on the end-effector aside component A to measure the pose of component B. Firstly, the features of irregular components are extracted based on U-NET network training with few labeled images. Secondly, an algorithm is proposed to calculate the pose of component B based on the image features and the corresponding three-dimensional coordinates on its ellipse surface. Thirdly, the six errors including two position errors and one orientation error in image space, and one position error and two orientation errors in Cartesian space are computed to control the motions of component A to align with component B. The hybrid visual servoing method is used in the control system. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of the designed system.

Hand-eye calibration method with a three-dimensional-vision sensor considering the rotation parameters of the robot pose

Hand-eye calibration is a fundamental step for a robot equipped with vision systems. However, this problem usually interacts with robot calibration because robot geometric parameters are not very precise. In this article, a new calibration method considering the rotation parameters of the robot pose is proposed. First, a constraint least square model is established assuming that each spherical center measurement of standard ball is equal in the robot base frame, which provides an initial solution. To further improve the solution accuracy, a nonlinear calibration model in the sensor frame is established. Since it can reduce one error accumulation process, a more accurate reference point can be used for optimization. Then, the rotation parameters of the robot pose whose slight errors cause large disturbance to the solution are selected by analyzing the coefficient matrices of the error items. Finally, the hand-eye transformation parameters are refined together with the rotation parameters in the nonlinear optimization solution. Some comparative simulations are performed between the modified least square method, constrained least square method, and the proposed method. The experiments are conducted on a 5-axis hybrid robot named TriMule to demonstrate the superior accuracy of the proposed method.

Robotic distal subtotal gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy for advanced gastric cancer: a case report and technical description

Robotic systems have revolutionized the way we perform minimally invasive surgery and has facilitated the evolution of traditional laparoscopic gastric surgery. Surgeons have several advantages that can overcome some of the well-known limits of laparoscopy: three-dimensional vision, articulated instruments, the absence of tremors. These can give greater dexterity and precision in dissection and suturing movements that are key elements when performing complex and gentle reconstruction to restore digestive continuity. The present case shows the technical details and tips and tricks of a robotic surgical approach for a subtotal gastrectomy.