Related papers: Toward a Surgeon-in-the-Loop Ophthalmic Robotic Ap…
Episodic self-imitation learning, a novel self-imitation algorithm with a trajectory selection module and an adaptive loss function, is proposed to speed up reinforcement learning. Compared to the original self-imitation learning algorithm,…
Despite the immense technology advancement in the surgeries the criteria of assessing the surgical skills still remains based on subjective standards. With the advent of robotic-assisted surgery, new opportunities for objective and…
Surgical simulation is an increasingly important element of surgical education. Using simulation can be a means to address some of the significant challenges in developing surgical skills with limited time and resources. The photo-realistic…
We study the problem of learning to perform multi-stage robotic manipulation tasks, with applications to cable routing, where the robot must route a cable through a series of clips. This setting presents challenges representative of complex…
Imitation learning is a popular approach for teaching motor skills to robots. However, most approaches focus on extracting policy parameters from execution traces alone (i.e., motion trajectories and perceptual data). No adequate…
Surgical tool segmentation in endoscopic images is the first step towards pose estimation and (sub-)task automation in challenging minimally invasive surgical operations. While many approaches in the literature have shown great results…
Imitation learning is an effective approach for autonomous systems to acquire control policies when an explicit reward function is unavailable, using supervision provided as demonstrations from an expert, typically a human operator.…
Endoluminal surgery offers a minimally invasive option for early-stage gastrointestinal and urinary tract cancers but is limited by surgical tools and a steep learning curve. Robotic systems, particularly continuum robots, provide flexible…
Reinforcement learning (RL) is a flexible and efficient method for programming micro-robots in complex environments. Here we investigate whether reinforcement learning can provide insights into biological systems when trained to perform…
Complex and contact-rich robotic manipulation tasks, particularly those that involve multi-fingered hands and underactuated object manipulation, present a significant challenge to any control method. Methods based on reinforcement learning…
Assistive robots enable people with disabilities to conduct everyday tasks on their own. However, these tasks can be complex, containing both coarse reaching motions and fine-grained manipulation. For example, when eating, not only does one…
An effective way to achieve intelligence is to simulate various intelligent behaviors in the human brain. In recent years, bio-inspired learning methods have emerged, and they are different from the classical mathematical programming…
Accurate segmentation and tracking of relevant elements of the surgical scene is crucial to enable context-aware intraoperative assistance and decision making. Current solutions remain tethered to domain-specific, supervised models that…
Automation of surgical tasks using cable-driven robots is challenging due to backlash, hysteresis, and cable tension, and these issues are exacerbated as surgical instruments must often be changed during an operation. In this work, we…
The success of the human-robot co-worker team in a flexible manufacturing environment where robots learn from demonstration heavily relies on the correct and safe operation of the robot. How this can be achieved is a challenge that requires…
Robots are increasingly integrated across industries, particularly in healthcare. However, many valuable applications for quadrupedal robots remain overlooked. This research explores the effectiveness of three reinforcement learning…
Computer vision approaches are widely used by autonomous robotic systems to sense the world around them and to guide their decision making as they perform diverse tasks such as collision avoidance, search and rescue, and object…
Purpose: Segmentation of surgical instruments in endoscopic videos is essential for automated surgical scene understanding and process modeling. However, relying on fully supervised deep learning for this task is challenging because manual…
The proliferation of robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery highlights the need for advanced training tools such as cost-effective robotic endotrainers. Current surgical robots often lack haptic feedback, which is crucial for providing…
This work introduces a robot navigation controller that combines event cameras and other sensors with reinforcement learning to enable real-time human-centered navigation and obstacle avoidance. Unlike conventional image-based controllers,…