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Abstract: Surgical robots have achieved commercial success and are experiencing rapid global growth. The robotics community continues to push the boundaries of safety, ease of use, and minimally invasive techniques in surgical robots. Continuum robots, with their intrinsic flexibility and miniature sizes, are emerging as ideal candidates for the next generation of minimally invasive surgical systems. Their development, however, presents three major challenges: design and manufacturing, human-robot interaction, and intelligent perception. In this talk, I will share our efforts to overcome these challenges, focusing on advancements that make surgical continuum robots smaller, softer, and smarter.

Bio: Dr Liao Wu is a Senior Lecturer with the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of New South Wales (UNSW), ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥. He earned his BS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Tsinghua ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, China, in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Following postdoctoral research at the National ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Singapore and Queensland ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Technology, he joined UNSW Sydney in 2019, leading the Laboratory for Engineering-Oriented Robotics (LEO Robotics Lab).

Dr Wu’s research focuses on medical robotics, particularly flexible robots and intelligent perception for minimally invasive surgery. He also explores theoretical robotics and their industrial applications, including applying Lie Group Theory in robotic kinematics and calibration. He was the Program Chair for DICTA2020 and ACRA2023. Currently, he is the Program Coordinator for UNSW’s Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering program and an Associate Editor for Biomimetic Intelligence and Robotics, Cognitive Robotics, and IET Cyber-Systems and Robotics.