PLENARY LECTURE

TITLE: Perspectives of Biomedical Robotics

By Prof. Paolo Dario, Maria Chiara Carrozza, Eugenio Guglielmelli
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.
(http://www-crim.sssup.it; http://www-arts.sssup.it, dario@sssup.it)

ABSTRACT: Biomedical Robotics is a fast growing field of research and application for Robotics and Mechatronics. Biomedical Robotics is important because it poses new and exciting problems for theory and technology; because it generates results that are very important for a society, like ours, seeking for better quality of health care and, in general, of life for citizens; and also because it has a strong potential for the development of a new and solid industry. Although general consensus has not been reached yet on the precise definition and scope of the field, Biomedical Robotics definitely includes the "medical" applications of robotics and mechatronics, such as in surgery, endoscopy, rehabilitation, assistance to the disabled and the elderly, and prosthetics. On the other hand, a broad definition of Biomedical Robotics also includes research and application in more speculative areas, such as the modelling and replication of biological systems. Growing research efforts aim to investigate, for example, the development of grasping and manipulation capabilities in infants and its simulation by robotics platforms, and the design of bio-inspired humanoid components and systems. Therefore not only Robotics is contributing to the improvement of health care through its progress in theory and technology, but it is also taking great benefit from the advancement of biomedical sciences, particularly - but not only - neuroscience. In this talk, an overview of the field is presented, comprising definitions of Biomedical Robotics and examples of applications to surgery, endoscopy, rehabilitation and bionics. State of the art, scientific and technical problems and perspectives in these areas are discussed. Finally, our vision on how Biomedical Robotics requires and stimulates the education of a new class of researchers and engineers, who are able to integrate harmoniously deep technical expertise in robotics and mechatronics with a sense for inter- and trans-disciplinary research and with the awareness of the social and ethical implications of their research is briefly discussed.