NUS team building robot assistant for eye surgeons

Popular horror, as depicted in the likes of video game Dead Space and blockbuster movie Final Destination 5, reflects a fear of machines operating on humans.

- Osmond Chia

A surgical sequence in Dead Space 2, for instance, vividly illustrates the potential for horrific consequences if a player in the game misaligns a surgical needle in a procedure, resulting in a gruesome outcome.

Researchers from the NUS are building a robot assistant for eye surgeons that aims to overcome such concerns, as these robots can be of great use in high-precision microsurgery, where there is little to no room for error.

The device, the Beam-a-bot, is slated for tests on animal subjects in the next three years, before it is put through clinical trials at the National University Hospital, with the objective of eventually assisting surgeons in operations.

The system uses artificial intelligence to locate anomalies in the eye and has precise tool-handling.

The eye surgery bot was among 30 robotic projects showcased by the College of Design and Engineering on March 8 during NUS' annual open house.

The school's largest robotic display showcases projects that started off from research initiatives, student creations and start-ups affiliated with NUS.

The college will also introduce a new four-year Robotics and Machine Intelligence degree in August to meet the rising demand for more specialised engineering programmes, said college dean Teo Kie Leong.