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On the morning of August 4th, Beijing time, it is reported that a robot “surgeon” will be sent to the International Space Station for testing, and may one day even operate independently in space. China factory manufacture precision metal gasket
The International Space Station is located in low-Earth orbit, about 409 kilometers above the surface, orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes and moving at a speed of 7.8 kilometers per second.
With the support and sponsorship of NASA for several years, scientists in Nebraska, USA have successfully built this robot named “MIRA”, which means “small living robot assistant”. It will lift off to the International Space Station in 2024 to demonstrate its cutting capabilities with a simulated tissue.
Scientists say it could help astronauts repair a ruptured appendix on a future mission to Mars, or remove shrapnel from soldiers on distant battlefields. China factory manufacture precision metal gasket
The MIRA robot is the work of Shane Farett, a professor of engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In April, NASA announced it had awarded the university a $100,000 grant to get the robot ready for test missions in 2024.
Shane Farett, professor of engineering at the University of Nebraska, inventor of the MIRA robot
“NASA has been very supportive of this research for a long time. Our robot has the opportunity to board the International Space Station.” China factory manufacture precision metal gasket
The MIRA robot weighs only two pounds (about 0.9 kg) and is a slender cylindrical shape with two movable manipulator arms at the bottom, each equipped with a mini version of the tool, one for grasping and the other for for cutting. They will one day cut and grasp real human organs and tissues, but before that, years of research and testing will be required for safety reasons.
Currently, the robot can insert surgical tools into the body through a single incision in the patient’s abdomen and be controlled by the surgeon through a console on the side, but it could be automated in the future.
“As people travel farther and farther in space, maybe one day surgery will be needed,” Professor Farit said. “We’re working hard to make that happen.” China factory manufacture precision metal gasket
Once aboard the ISS, MIRA will do its job independently, without the need for a doctor or astronaut to guide it. However, these operations will not use real human tissue. Instead, it will simulate various surgical maneuvers, such as cutting taut rubber bands, pushing metal rings strung on wires, and more, in a microwave-sized lab box.
However, according to Professor Farit’s estimate, MIRA will take another 50 to 100 years to operate independently. The goal of the 2024 test is not the robot’s level of automation, but to fine-tune the robot’s ability to operate in a zero-gravity environment.
According to the program, the device can be tested independently, thereby reducing the occupation of the communication bandwidth of the space station and minimizing the time astronauts spend on this experiment.
“The astronaut only needs to turn on the switch, and the robot will start the experiment by itself. After two hours, the astronaut can turn the switch off again.” China factory manufacture precision metal gasket
Professor Farett and Rachel Wagner, an engineering graduate student at the school, will complete the final pre-launch work together next year, by writing software to allow MIRA to operate in the space station’s experimental box; in addition, there will be a lot of work on the device. Extreme testing to make sure it survives launch and works as intended in space.
The surgical performance of MIRA has been proven on the ground. In a previous experiment, former NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson piloted the robot at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, guiding MIRA through a series of operations that mimicked surgery in an operating room.
Farett and colleagues have been developing MIRA for nearly 20 years. In 2006, he co-founded VirtualIncision with a partner, which launched the MIRA project. Since its inception, the company has attracted more than $100 million in venture capital funding. China factory manufacture precision metal gasket
