File:Robonaut Supports Telemedicine Advances.webm

English: NASA is always investigating new uses for one of the world's most advanced humanoid robots, Robonaut 2 (R2.) Working with Dr. Zsolt Garami from Houston Methodist Research Institute, R2 was put through the paces to prove its use as a device enabling telemedicine, or the use of electronic communications to conduct medical procedures. After some quick training, an R2 teleoperator was able to guide the robot and perform an ultrasound scan on a medical mannequin. Humans at the controls are able to perform the task correctly and efficiently by using R2's dexterity to apply the appropriate level of force and can track their progress using R2's vision system. The teleoperated R2 also experimented using a syringe as part of a procedure further demonstrating the robot's capabilities for telemedicine. This demonstration of robotic capabilities could one day result in the ability for physicians to conduct complex medical procedures on humans in remote locations, whether on the Earth's surface or even in low Earth orbit.