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The global objective of this proposal is to build a large dataset of robotic surgical maneuvers using the da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK) platform. One of the trending research topics in the field of surgical robotics is the design of collaborative strategies so that robots can aid surgeons performing certain actions with autonomy. Automating parts of a surgery has many advantages such as increased precision and accuracy, consistency in treatments, and greater dexterity and access to tissues. However, the adoption of autonomy in the surgical domain is still in an early stage. Thus, the dataset built during this project would be helpful to research on the field of autonomous robotic surgery. In particular, it will be used to advance in the topic of collaborative surgical robots, exploring the use of Deep Learning techniques to perform autonomous auxiliary tasks in laparoscopic procedures.

The da Vinci surgical robot is the main reference in the field of surgical robotics, thus most researches addressing advances in this field use the research version of this platform, the dVRK, to perform their experiments. Building a database of robotic surgical maneuvers using this platform will give the user the possibility of performing several investigations derived from the data analysis, ranging from maneuvers segmentation to autonomous task planning.

Moreover, the Department to which the applicant belongs, has recently acquired a high-performance computer for applications in the field of cognitive robotics. Thus, the surgical robotics database will also be accessible for members of this department in order to explore Deep Learning techniques for tasks and/or objects recognition and other applications that may be of the interest of the department’s members. In addition, it is expected to use this database to carry out several end-of-degree projects with engineering students.