{"product_id":"towards-autonomous-robotic-surgery","title":"Towards Autonomous Robotic Surgery","description":"\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003ePaolo Fiorini (Editor)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e9783032042460\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e5 April 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eHardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eXVIII, 318\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eEnglish\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eSpringer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eDescription\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book presents the complete results of the European Research Council Advanced Grant project ARS (Autonomous Robotic Surgery), funded under Horizon 2020 (ERC-ADG N. 742671). It documents the development and validation of methods to integrate autonomous capabilities into robotic surgery, merging robotics with artificial intelligence in the challenging domain of robot-assisted surgical procedures. Leveraging the da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK), the research spans knowledge representation, medical image processing, software engineering, robotic control, human-machine interfaces, haptics, and tele-robotics. Each chapter summarizes key doctoral dissertations produced during the project, offering a coherent and accessible overview unavailable from individual publications.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eKey Features\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eComprehensive documentation of the ERC-funded ARS project outcomes, from foundational AI methods to real-world surgical robotics validation. Covers the full pipeline of autonomous robotic surgery: knowledge extraction, task planning, situation awareness, simulation, plan execution, and hardware design. Addresses ethical, social, and communication dimensions of surgical autonomy. Presents practical methods validated with the da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK). Includes both technical contributions and non-technical perspectives on deploying autonomous systems in clinical settings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eCoverage\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book is organized into three major parts across 16 chapters. Part I — Knowledge Extraction, Representation and Task Planning — covers learning surgical procedures from text, surgical task planning and learning, gesture learning from data, and simulation-based autonomy. Part II — Plan Instantiation, Simulation and Execution — addresses situation awareness in autonomous surgical robots (calibration and Medical SLAM), cognitive architecture, autonomous tissue retraction with DEFRAS, learning tissue retraction in simulation, and new hardware design and analysis. Part III — The Non-technical Issues of Autonomy — explores ethical and social dimensions, automation at the boundary of autonomy, communication strategy, and exploitation of results.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Editor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaolo Fiorini is Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Verona, Italy. He was the Principal Investigator of the ERC Advanced Grant project ARS (Autonomous Robotic Surgery). His research focuses on robotics, autonomous systems, and their applications in minimally invasive surgery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. Introduction — Paolo Fiorini\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePart I: Knowledge Extraction, Representation and Task Planning\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2. Learning Surgical Procedures from Text — Marco Bombieri\u003cbr\u003e3. Surgical Task Planning and Learning — Daniele Meli\u003cbr\u003e4. Towards Surgical Task Planning from Text — Marco Bombieri\u003cbr\u003e5. Learning Surgical Gestures from Data — Michele Ginesi\u003cbr\u003e6. Simulation and Autonomy — Eleonora Tagliabue\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePart II: Plan Instantiation, Simulation and Execution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e7. Situation Awareness in Autonomous Surgical Robots: Calibration and Medical SLAM — Andrea Roberti\u003cbr\u003e8. The Cognitive Architecture — Eleonora Tagliabue, Marco Bombieri\u003cbr\u003e9. Autonomous Tissue Retraction with DEFRAS — Eleonora Tagliabue\u003cbr\u003e10. Learning Tissue Retraction in Simulation — Eleonora Tagliabue\u003cbr\u003e11. New Hardware: Design, Models and Analysis — Andrea Calanca, Zhuoqi Cheng, Diego Dall'Alba, Paolo Fiorini, Giovanni Gerardo Muscolo, Chiara Zandoná\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePart III: The Non-technical Issues of Autonomy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e12. The Ethical and Social Aspects of Autonomy — Sara Patuzzo Manzati\u003cbr\u003e13. Automation on the Brink of Autonomy: Letting Go of Control — Maria-Camilla Fiazza, Paolo Fiorini\u003cbr\u003e14. Communication Strategy of the ARS Project — Martina Doppio, Paolo Fiorini\u003cbr\u003e15. The Exploitation of Results — Paolo Fiorini, Bogdan Maris\u003cbr\u003e16. Conclusions — Paolo Fiorini, Marco Bombieri\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy Buy This Book?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the definitive reference on the ARS project — the only work that consolidates six years of European-funded research on autonomous robotic surgery into a single, coherent volume. Essential for researchers, engineers, and clinicians working at the intersection of AI, robotics, and surgery. Valuable for medical technology developers, biomedical engineers, and policymakers navigating the regulatory and ethical landscape of autonomous surgical systems. A critical resource for graduate students and doctoral researchers entering the field of surgical robotics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eKeywords\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAutonomous Robotic Surgery, Artificial Intelligence in Surgery, Surgical Robotics, Robot-Assisted Surgery, Knowledge Representation, Medical SLAM, da Vinci Research Kit, Haptics, Tele-Robotics, Surgical Task Planning, Tissue Retraction, Embodied AI, ERC Advanced Grant, Biomedical Engineering\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eTarget Audience\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobotics Researchers, Biomedical Engineers, Surgical Robotics Developers, AI and Machine Learning Researchers, Medical Technology Professionals, Graduate Students in Robotics and Computer Science, University Libraries, Hospital Libraries, Research Institutions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eGenre\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobotics, Artificial Intelligence, Biomedical Engineering, Surgical Technology, Medical Robotics\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003eQ\u0026amp;A\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat were the main outcomes of the ERC ARS project on autonomous robotic surgery?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe ARS project developed practical methods to integrate robotics and artificial intelligence for autonomous functions in robot-assisted surgery, spanning knowledge extraction, task planning, gesture learning, situation awareness, tissue retraction, and new hardware design, all validated using the da Vinci Research Kit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow does autonomous robotic surgery differ from conventional robot-assisted surgery?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eConventional robot-assisted surgery relies on continuous human teleoperation, while autonomous robotic surgery aims to delegate specific tasks — such as tissue retraction, suturing, or instrument positioning — to AI-driven systems that can plan and execute actions with minimal human intervention.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat role does the da Vinci Research Kit play in surgical robotics research?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK) is an open-source research platform that enables researchers to develop and test autonomous surgical functions across multiple domains including robotic control, medical image processing, haptics, and human-machine interfaces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat are the ethical considerations of autonomous surgical robots?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKey ethical considerations include questions of liability and accountability when surgical decisions are delegated to machines, patient informed consent for AI-driven procedures, the boundaries between automation and autonomy, and ensuring equitable access to advanced surgical technologies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat is Medical SLAM and how is it used in surgical robotics?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMedical SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) enables surgical robots to build real-time 3D maps of the surgical environment while tracking instrument positions, providing the spatial awareness essential for autonomous task execution during minimally invasive procedures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow are surgical task planning and knowledge representation used in autonomous surgery?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSurgical task planning uses AI techniques such as answer set programming and natural language processing to extract procedural knowledge from surgical textbooks, represent it formally, and generate executable plans that autonomous robots can follow during surgical procedures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat is the significance of tissue retraction automation in robotic surgery?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAutomated tissue retraction is a critical subtask in minimally invasive surgery that involves manipulating soft tissue to expose the surgical site. Automating this function frees the surgeon to focus on the primary procedure and reduces the need for additional operating room staff.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cb\u003e📘 Learn more about shipping, delivery times, and returns, see our\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(147, 11, 11);\"\u003e\u003ca style=\"color: rgb(147, 11, 11);\" href=\"https:\/\/clnzbooks.com\/pages\/faq-frequently-asked-questions\"\u003eFAQ here\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e","brand":"Springer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43566883569738,"sku":null,"price":360.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0287\/7351\/5338\/files\/Towards2.png?v=1777938377","url":"https:\/\/clnzbooks.com\/products\/towards-autonomous-robotic-surgery","provider":"CLNZ Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}