Surgical robots have been widely adopted with over 4000 robots being used in practice daily. However, these are telerobots that are fully controlled by skilled human surgeons. Introducing “surgeon-assist”—some forms of autonomy—has the potential to reduce tedium and increase consistency, analogous to driver-assist functions for lane-keeping, cruise control, and parking. This article examines the scientific and technical backgrounds of robotic autonomy in surgery and some ethical, social, and legal implications. We describe several autonomous surgical tasks that have been automated in laboratory settings, and research concepts and trends.

中文翻译：

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机器人辅助手术自主性的概念和趋势

手术机器人已被广泛采用，每天有超过 4000 台机器人在实践中使用。然而，这些是由熟练的人类外科医生完全控制的远程机器人。引入“外科医生辅助”——某种形式的自主性——有可能减少单调乏味并提高一致性，类似于车道保持、巡航控制和停车的驾驶员辅助功能。本文探讨了手术机器人自主的科学和技术背景以及一些伦理、社会和法律影响。我们描述了几个在实验室环境中自动化的自主手术任务，以及研究概念和趋势。