A tiny robot on the space station will simulate remote-controlled surgery up there

A tiny robot on the space station will simulate remote-controlled surgery up there Enlarge this image toggle caption Craig Chandler/University of Nebraska Office of University Communication and Marketing Craig Chandler/University of Nebraska Office of University Communication and Marketing The robot is small in size but its aspirations are out of this world — literally. MIRA, which stands for miniaturized in vivo robotic assistant, recently became the first surgical robot at the International Space Station. Developers plan to use MIRA to conduct a surgical simulation via remote-controlled technology, with a surgeon directing its movements 250 miles away from Nebraska. YouTube "When we started this work at the University of Nebraska, we shared a collective vision that miniRAS could make robotic-assisted surgery available to any patient, any time, anywhere," said Shane Farritor, Virtual Incision's co-founder.