The humanoid robot has officially taken a crucial step toward the operating room.

Recently, the top international academic journal Nature published a major preclinical trial: a team of engineers and surgeons at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) successfully performed a live gallbladder removal surgery for the first time using two remotely operated humanoid robots.

This is not only a proof of concept but also a landmark event marking the transition of humanoid robots from "stage show-off" to "high-value clinical scenarios."

| Humanoid robots enter the operating room for the first time

This study was jointly conducted by a team of engineers and surgeons at the University of California, San Diego. They successfully performed two gallbladder removal surgeries on large mammals, verifying the feasibility of humanoid robots entering the operating room:

The first is "human-machine collaboration": a humanoid robot leads the operation, with a human surgeon assisting nearby.

The second is the "Robot Double Row": complete by two humanoid robots working side by side.

Researchers say this is just the first step in bringing humanoid robots into operating rooms. In the future, they can start as "surgical assistants" and eventually achieve remote control by surgeons as the lead surgeon.

Why should humanoid robots perform surgery?

The core reason is to solve the global "surgeon shortage" problem. Professor Michael Yip from the University of California, San Diego, points out that while patient demand is high, there are not enough doctors, making it difficult to see a doctor and causing long waits. Humanoid robots can remotely deliver high-quality medical resources to remote areas, which not only helps alleviate the medical crisis in the United States but also benefits patients worldwide.

What makes humanoid robots superior to traditional surgical robots?

Traditional surgical robots often only perform single tasks, while humanoid robots are "versatile" robots, capable of performing various complex surgical operations and handling other miscellaneous tasks in the operating room.

More importantly, they are "lightweight and easy to deploy," the professor said. In the future, you can imagine these robots being sent to understaffed remote communities, or quickly building life-saving medical defenses in harsh environments such as search and rescue and field medical care.

| Extremely low cost, and can "work seamlessly"

The greatest significance of humanoid robots entering the operating room is that it solves the problems of "difficulty in seeing doctors and finding good doctors." Compared to traditional specialized surgical robots, their advantages are very clear:

1. Say goodbye to being "heavy"—lightweight and compact, suitable for any location

Traditional surgical robots typically have three or four robotic arms weighing up to 1,800 pounds (about 800 kilograms), which not only take up space but also require specialized modifications to the operating room before they can be used. The Unitree G1 humanoid robot used in this experiment (nicknamed Surgie) is about 1.5 meters tall and weighs only 60 pounds (about 27 kilograms), making it very easy to move.

2. Extremely low cost, affordable even in remote areas

In remote or resource-poor areas, building a dedicated operating room or maintaining a large professional team can be frighteningly expensive. Humanoid robots not only cost only a fraction of traditional equipment in terms of cost and footprint, but are also very easy to deploy. Dr. Liu, who participated in remote control, even stated that such lightweight devices could be used in space medical care in the future.

3. No need for tools, seamless work with the right hands

Traditional robots must use dedicated tools and software, whereas humanoid robots can seamlessly integrate into existing operating room environments. Although the team made a small adapter, it can be used directly with conventional surgical tools in hospitals. Moreover, operating it feels very natural, so even doctors without specialized system training can easily get started. The research team was even pleasantly surprised to find that it perfectly fits into existing workflows.

4. Remote control with uncompromised accuracy

Don't be fooled by its human-like appearance; it doesn't slack off at all when it comes to delicate work. Dr. Liu, who remotely controls the robot, confirmed that surgeries performed by humanoid robots are as precise as traditional specialized surgical robots.

| From "Remote Control" to "All-in-One Assistant"

Although humanoid robots successfully completed live surgeries, the team still has several "tough battles" to fight before it becomes truly widespread:

1. Overcoming two major technical challenges: "calibration" and "delay."

Currently, robots still require multiple recalibrations during surgery, resulting in overall longer times than traditional equipment. But Dr. Liu remains optimistic, noting that early specialized robots also went through this stage (the first robotic laparoscopic surgery took 6 hours but has now been shortened to 30 minutes), and this problem will soon improve as technology iterates. Additionally, to enable longer-distance remote surgeries, the team is fully optimizing the system and working to eliminate the "time lag" between doctor operation and robot response.

2. Evolve into an "all-rounder" surgical assistant

Besides the lead surgeon, humanoid robots have tremendous potential to become doctors' "all-round assistants." Because they can walk and possess most of the physical functions of humans, in the future they will not only help doctors deliver tools but also help clean the operating room after surgery. Professor Yip stated that their goal is to develop an "autonomous surgical assistant," enabling human doctors and robots to form a comprehensive team to fight side by side. Whether in traditional hospitals with staff shortages or in harsh unconventional medical settings, timely surgical services can be provided to patients.

3. Integration of medical engineering to build a bridge for innovation

Behind this groundbreaking achievement lies the close collaboration between engineers and surgeons. The UC San Diego "Future Surgery Center" has built a perfect bridge for both sides. As Dr. Ryan Broderick, interim director of the center, said, combining engineering innovation with clinical expertise to jointly address real clinical pain points in top laboratories is the key force that brings this transformative idea from theory into reality.

Kingtech Perspective | The intersection of medical penetration and "embodied intelligence."

The "killer" scenarios for commercializing humanoid robots have
emerged, with most of their deployment concentrated in industrial manufacturing or simple logistics handling. The publication of this Nature paper confirms the feasibility of humanoid robots in the high-barrier, high-value-added precision medicine field. This marks the accelerated leap of the humanoid robot industry from "getting moving" to "taking action," with healthcare becoming the core engine driving valuation reshaping in this sector.

Focus on "lower-tier markets" and "special medical" equipment going global
. Compared to the crowded high-end equipment market in top-tier hospitals, there is a huge equipment gap in primary medical institutions, field medical care, and underdeveloped overseas regions. Humanoid surgical robots with high cost-performance and high mobility are expected to become new business cards for new medical infrastructure and overseas expansion. It is recommended to focus on targets with core technological barriers in the fields of medical robot telecontrol systems, visual perception algorithms, and flexible actuators.

Focusing on the interdisciplinary integration of medicine and engineering to give rise to "AI + healthcare" new infrastructure
. This research is led by Chinese scientists and relies on joint laboratories between top universities and clinical hospitals, highlighting the importance of deep integration of "engineering innovation + clinical expertise." In the future, companies capable of providing high-quality medical interaction data and building standardized "embodied intelligence" surgical training platforms will establish a deep moat.

With "cost reduction" and "increased autonomy," humanoid robots are bound to reshape the global distribution of medical resources. For investors, early positioning in hard technology companies with deep accumulation in the "medical-engineering intersection" field and truly addressing clinical pain points is the optimal way to seize this historic opportunity.