Advanced interfaces for teleoperated biomedical robots

General considerations are presented for the use of advanced interfaces for teleoperating robots capable of performing medical/surgical procedures. The authors point out that the design of a device that could allow the surgeon to command robot motion and force and to receive from the robot the sensory information about the external environment is strictly related to: (1) the availability of a sensorized dexterous end-effector as a slave device; (2) the ability of the master operator to control the robotic end-effector in the most natural way, i.e. by performing the same movements required in a real situation; and (3) the availability, on the master device, of components able to recreate for the human operator the sensory information acquired by the remote sensory systems. An instrumented glove able to transmit to the human operator kinesthetic force feedback and tactile feedback is presented