Archives for Robotika

Purdue University researchers are developing a robotic system that can recognize hand gestures during a surgical procedure. The system would be used to control a robotic scrub nurse or to tell a computer to show medical images of the patient, both of which could help reduce the length of procedures and the risk of infection, says Purdue professor Juan Pablo Wachs. He says the vision-based hand gesture recognition technology could have other applications, such as the coordination of emergency response activities during disasters. The system uses algorithms and a camera to identify hand gestures as commands to instruct the robot or computer. “You want to use intuitive and natural gestures for the surgeon, to express medical image navigation activities, but you also need to consider cultural and physical differences between surgeons,” Wachs says. He says one challenge for the technology is being able to understand context and differentiate intended gestures from unintended ones. The gesture algorithms are based on anthropometry, which involves predicting the position of the hands based on the position of the head. The researchers also are developing ways “to anticipate what images the surgeon will need to see next and what instruments will be needed,” Wachs says.