Ubiquitous Medical Robotics: Lessons Learned, Vision Beyond

Clarification on the Submission and Presentation of Final Documents: 

ABSTRACTS

The deadline for final accepted abstract submissions is moved to May 18th, 2025 (23:59 US PT). Please ensure that the final version of the abstract is no more than two pages, and that it is formatted according to the IEEE conference format (https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates.html).

POSTER AND PRESENTATION

All abstracts submitted will be presented via a poster during the pitch session from 11:50 – 12:30 US EST. A digital copy of the poster is due on May 18th, 2025 (23:59 US PT).  This digital copy will allow the judges a chance to review the poster before the poster presentation. Each presenter will also bring a hard copy of their poster to the conference for the presentation. The easel will accommodate poster dimensions of 4 foot by 4 foot (4’x4’).  Each presenter will be given 2 minutes to present their poster to a panel of judges during the pitch session. Note, there is NOT an additional presentation or slide deck – the poster itself is the presentation. 

Speakers

Organizers

Accepted abstracts

Event Description

In the past decade, research into medical robotics has surged, with thousands of academic papers published each year, and the field gaining ever-increasing attention. Despite this growing ubiquity in academic discourse, translation into real-world products remains relatively slow, with few breakthroughs reaching the clinical stage. Observing the last 10 years and looking ahead to the next, we are left with a series of critical questions: What capabilities of medical robots are still missing? What are the realistic expectations for medical robots—should they all be fully autonomous? And which emerging techniques in the next decade can potentially bridge the gap between research and clinical application? Furthermore, how can we enhance the awareness and cognitive abilities of medical robots to improve their performance in real-world surgeries?

This workshop will bring together leading medical robotics researchers and clinicians, fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue aimed at addressing these pressing issues. Together, we will explore the latest advancements, discuss key challenges, and investigate the role of both automation and human oversight in future medical robotics systems. By combining diverse expertise, we hope to find pathways towards practical, safe, and effective solutions for the next generation of medical robots.

Topics of interest

This workshop will specifically focus on the four distinct roles of medical robots: Assisted, Adaptive, Augmented, and Autonomous. It will explore these roles in relation to key themes such as design, perception, modeling, control, and navigation of medical robots, addressing the following core areas:

• Autonomous Control of Medical Robots

• Advanced Sensing Technologies for Medical Robotics

• Design and Modeling Challenges in Medical Robotic Systems

• Navigation and Path Planning in Medical Robots

• Machine Learning/Deep Learning for Medical Robots

• Human-Robot Collaboration in High-Risk Surgical Environments

• Safety and Regulatory Considerations for Autonomous Medical Robotics

• Novel Surgical Training Techniques

• Haptic Feedback for Enhanced Precision in Robotic Surgery

• Advancements in Enhancing Cognitive Abilities and Situational Awareness in Surgical Robots

Call for Abstracts

This workshop invites submissions of extended abstracts. 

FORMAT

The abstract submission should be no more than two pages, formatted according to the IEEE conference format (https://www.ieee.org/conferences/publishing/templates.html). It must include the following sections:

1. Introduction

2. Materials and Methods

3. Results

4. Discussion

5. References

Successful submissions will be either accepted for an oral or poster presentation.

Submissions should be sent as a single email with an attachment to algunder@uark.edu, with yue.chen@bme.gatech.edu and diwu@mmmi.sdu.dk in CC.

Please format the email subject as: [Submission-UMedBot-ICRA2025] + [Title of Your Submission]

Submission deadline: 13th April, 2025  27th April, 2025

Notification of acceptance: 18th April, 2025 and 1st May, 2025

We are excited to announce that we will be selecting three outstanding poster presentations (sponsored by IEEE TC on Surgical Robotics) for special awards, each accompanied by a cash prize. These awards recognize excellence in abstract quality and presentation quality.

• Best Poster Award

• Runner-up Best Poster Award

• Best Student Presenter Award

We look forward to seeing your submissions and celebrating the outstanding work of our participants!

Important dates

• Workshop date: May 23, 2025  08:30

• Deadline for abstracts/posters submission: 13th April, 2025  27th April, 2025

• Notification of acceptance: April 18, 2025 and May 1, 2025

• Final version submission: May 10, 2025

• ICRA Conference: May 19 to May 23, 2025