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.