Robotics for health: the future we are experiencing

From precision surgery to rehabilitation, to the automated management of materials and drugs, robotics is transforming the healthcare sector, making processes more efficient and standardized. The first applications, introduced about forty years ago in neurosurgery and orthopedics, paved the way for robot-assisted surgery that is now widespread worldwide, characterized by minimally invasive procedures that reduce pain and recovery times. A significant example of this progress is the da Vinci Surgical System platform, which, thanks to robotic arms controlled by an intuitive interface, allows complex interventions to be performed in different fields of surgery. Alongside these consolidated solutions, soft robotics has expanded operational possibilities, while continuous robots have shown effectiveness in minimally invasive procedures. More recently, miniaturized and magnetic robots have made progress in navigating inside the human body, while still remaining in the experimental phase.
Rehabilitation also benefits from these innovations: exoskeletons and prosthetic robots support the recovery of motor functions, encouraging the relearning of lost movements and improving patients' autonomy.
In parallel, an area of increasing importance is the automation of hospital logistics: dedicated robotic systems can transport samples, drugs and devices quickly and safely, relieving healthcare personnel from activities that are not strictly clinical and contributing to a better organization of services.
Finally, the growing ability of robots to perform autonomous actions and complex tasks raises questions of responsibility and acceptability. One of the great technological and ethical challenges of our time will be to develop increasingly advanced systems while maintaining substantial human control over decisions that affect people's lives.

Workshop in collaboration with NTT Scientific Partner of STEP

Bruno Siciliano is professor of Robotics at the University of Naples Federico II. He is also an honorary professor at the University of Óbuda where he holds the chair named after Rudolf Kálmán. Fellow of the IEEE, ASME, IFAC, AAIA, AIIA, AIIA scientific societies, he has received numerous international awards and awards, including the recent IEEE RAS Pioneer in Robotics and Automation Award (2024). He was president of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society from 2008 to 2009. He has given more than 150 keynotes and has published more than 400 articles and 24 books. His book 'Robotics' is among the most adopted academic texts worldwide, while his volume 'Springer Handbook of Robotics' has received the highest award for scientific publications: the PROSE Award for Excellence in Physical Sciences & Mathematics 2008. His team has received more than 25 million euros in funding over the last 15 years from competitive European research projects, including an Advanced Grant and a Synergy Grant from ERC. “Keep the gradient” is the motto that Siciliano invented and means the constant search for new ideas and new solutions, a hymn to complexity to seize challenges and opportunities always in the name of the art of “work and play” as stated in his 2016 TEDx talk.