The 2024 World Robot Contest was recently held in Beijing.

The participating work -- "MicroMedical Smart Control", a portable positioning surgical robot -- of the team from the medical robotics laboratory of the School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), ranked first in the Innovation and Creativity Group of the Coexiting-Cooperative-Cognitive Robots championship.

The World Robot Conference is one of the highest-level robot events, and the World Robot Contest is a derivative event of this conference. Since 2015, it has been held nine times, attracting nearly 300,000 participants from over 20 countries. It has developed into a professional event in the field of robotics with wide influence at home and abroad, earning a reputation as the "Olympics" of the robotics field.

A group photo of BIT's participating team in the 2024 World Robot Contest

The portable positioning surgical robot is an advanced medical device that can be widely used in procedures such as tumor localization puncture, pedicle screw implantation, and vertebral plate grinding, making it easier to be deployed in grassroots hospitals.

BIT team's developed robot, designed to be small in size, portable and low cost, integrates features such as a pseudo-image-free surgical device, biocompatible force sensing end-effector, intraoperative intelligent dynamic navigation technology, and a master-slave shared teleoperation mechanism, making it a high-precision, intelligent surgical assistance device.

The robot's end-effector can carry different surgical tools, enabling coverage of multiple procedures and departments. This robot, with its low cost, easy operation, high efficiency and safety, can promote the widespread adoption of advanced medical technology. It empowers common hospitals to have the capability to equip themselves with advanced medical devices, allowing more patients to access high-quality medical services, promoting the balanced distribution of medical resources, and enhancing the overall level of medical services in China.