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Ready for robotic surgeons?
September 29, 2006

What might you be testing in the future? Everything from nanodisks to adaptive control systems, based on eight top automation and electronics technologies enumerated by Peter Adrian, a Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst. Adrian described these technologies in a presentation at Frost’s “Industry Outlooks and Growth Strategies 2006" executive congress.

His most far-reaching prediction was the emergence of autonomous robots, which will employ embedded artificial intelligence to make real-time decisions with little or no human intervention. Rudimentary versions are available now, but Adrian said that defense organizations envision battlefield robotic surgeons that can operate on wounded soldiers. He acknowledged, though, that even multifunction household robots that can assist the handicapped could be a decade away.

Developers of robotic technologies cited by Adrian include some big names as well as Intrigue Technologies, which develops adaptive image-sensor chips and imaging systems.

Other technologies cited by Adrian are already yielding useful products. I will describe them in future posts.

Update: the October issue of IEEE Spectrum has an article on robotic surgeons.

Posted by Rick Nelson on September 29, 2006 | Comments (0)