On July 15, news emerged that the prestigious international journal Nature had recently published an online paper titled 'A Feasibility Study on the Use of Humanoid Robots for Live Surgical Procedures,' which has since garnered significant attention. The research team brought the Unitree Technology G1 humanoid robot into the operating room, where, under the guidance of human surgeons via a remote teleoperation system, standard laparoscopic cholecystectomies were successfully performed on two live pigs. This groundbreaking accomplishment marks the world's first live surgical procedure conducted using a humanoid robot.

The paper's lead author, Liang Zekai, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, responded via email. He emphasized that the study was the result of a collaborative effort by an interdisciplinary team comprising engineers and surgeons. The decision to use the Unitree G1 was primarily based on its availability as a commercial product on the market at the time of the research. The focus of the study was on the humanoid form of the robot, rather than on a specific technological platform.

Liang Zekai pointed out that it will still be some time before humanoid robots can be truly integrated into clinical practice for human patients. Prior to clinical deployment, further enhancements are required in areas such as precision, sterilization protocols, safety measures, regulatory approvals, and large-scale validation studies.