Performance-Guided Surgery: Robots in the operating room

The article summarizes Episode 213 of The Robot Report Podcast, featuring Dustin Vaughan, VP of R&D for Robotics at Ascensus, who discusses the company’s focus on performance-guided surgery through their Luna platform. Vaughan emphasizes integrating augmented intelligence to improve clinical support systems, addressing regulatory and cybersecurity challenges, and highlights the promising future of surgical robotics, especially in pediatric care. The conversation reflects Ascensus’s commitment to innovative, cost-effective robotic solutions that enhance patient outcomes and operational efficiency. Ascensus’s Senhance system was recognized with a 2025 RBR50 award, underscoring its industry impact. The episode also includes insights from Anders Beck, VP of Technology at Universal Robots, on evolving collaborative robotics standards, and Scott Kuindersma from Boston Dynamics on robotics research. The news segment covers major industry developments: Figure AI becoming a robotics unicorn with a $39 billion valuation after its Series C funding, aiming to produce 100,000 humanoid robots in four years; and the shutdown of R