Performance-guided surgery: Robots in the operating room

The podcast episode of The Robot Report features Dustin Vaughan, VP of R&D for robotics at Asensus Surgical, discussing the company’s strategic focus on the Luna surgical platform. Vaughan highlights how performance-guided surgery, augmented intelligence, and AI integration can improve clinical support and surgical outcomes, particularly emphasizing the promising future of robotics in pediatric care. He also addresses challenges such as regulatory compliance and cybersecurity in advancing surgical robotics. Asensus’s Senhance system was recognized with a 2025 RBR50 award, underscoring its innovation in the field. The episode also covers broader robotics industry news, including Figure AI’s recent Series C funding round that raised its valuation to $39 billion, aiming to mass-produce humanoid robots through its Helix platform and BotQ production environment. This reflects growing investor enthusiasm for humanoid robotics, alongside other companies like UBTECH and Dyna Robotics securing significant funding. Additionally, the podcast reports on the second shutdown of Rethink Robotics, a pioneer in collaborative robots