Humanoid robots have entered the operating room for the first time, working alongside surgeons to assist with actual surgical procedures. On September 16, Samsung Medical Center in Seoul hosted a groundbreaking demonstration where two humanoid robots collaborated with human doctors to perform a cholecystectomy, or gallbladder removal procedure, on a goat liver. One robot acted as a surgical nurse, handing instruments to the lead surgeon on voice command, while the other served as an assistant, holding a laparoscope to maintain the surgical field of view and retracting tissue as directed.

This demonstration represents a significant milestone in the "ORchestra" project, a government-backed initiative supported by South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare through its Korean ARPA-H program. The project brings together Samsung Medical Center, Rainbow Robotics, Aidin Robotics, Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, the National Cancer Center, and Jeonbuk National University Hospital to develop humanoid surgical assistant robots that can work safely and effectively alongside medical staff.

How Are Robots Learning to Assist Surgeons?

The core innovation behind the ORchestra project goes far beyond simple robotic arm movements. The research team is transforming the operating room itself into what they call a "Surgical Data Factory," collecting detailed information about how surgeons actually work.

• Motion Capture: Cameras mounted on the operating room ceiling record the movements of medical staff, while wearable sensors track fine hand and finger movements in precise detail.
• Surgical Video Analysis: Laparoscopic video footage is organized into "Action Triplets," which denote the surgical scene, the instrument being used, and the specific surgical step being performed.
• Data Standardization: Four institutions, including Samsung Medical Center, are accumulating this data in a standardized manner, with proper anonymization before it's used to train artificial intelligence systems.

The data collection extends beyond simple tasks like picking up scissors. Researchers have already developed and published algorithms that can predict the next surgical step and identify necessary instruments when shown laparoscopic video footage. The long-term goal is ambitious: prepare required tools before the surgeon even asks for them, or understand the flow of surgery well enough to provide natural, intuitive assistance.

"A process is needed to convert the tacit knowledge doctors have built up through physical surgical practice into data," explained Jung Yong-gi, a professor of Otolaryngology at Samsung Medical Center.

Jung Yong-gi, Professor of Otolaryngology, Samsung Medical Center

How Does This Compare to Global Competition?

The demonstration comes amid intense global competition in surgical robotics. Last year, Elon Musk famously claimed that artificial intelligence would replace surgeons within three years, a statement that sparked both excitement and skepticism in the medical robotics community. The South Korean research team views this claim not as a literal prediction, but as a symbolic declaration of the direction the field is heading.

Recent international research supports the feasibility of AI-assisted surgery. In 2025, researchers published results showing an AI system called SRT-H (Surgical Robot Transformer-Hierarchy) performing a gallbladder removal on a pig, though the experiment used excised organs rather than live animals. More recently, in July 2026, UC San Diego researchers published findings in the journal Nature demonstrating a humanoid robot performing surgery on a pig model via remote teleoperation.

"In the study published in Nature, the humanoid was remotely operated and human personnel provided surgical assistance. Our setup, a surgical team composed of a teleoperated robot alongside two humanoids, is a world first," noted Jung Yong-gi.

Jung Yong-gi, Professor of Otolaryngology, Samsung Medical Center

The South Korean team emphasizes that their approach differs meaningfully from international competitors. Rather than relying on remote operation, their system enables humanoids to work collaboratively with surgeons in the same operating room, responding to voice commands and learning from the surgical team's movements and decisions.

What's the Timeline for Clinical Use?

The research team is currently in Phase 1 of development, working with approximately 1.4 billion Korean won (roughly $1 million USD) in funding. If they pass a competitive evaluation scheduled for the end of 2026, they will secure an additional research budget of around 12 billion Korean won. The total project size, based on government-supported research and development funding, is approximately 13.8 billion Korean won, covering not only robot development but also clinical trials, safety verification, legal and policy research, usability evaluation, and demonstration costs.

The research team has set clinical trials as a target for 2029, marking a significant step toward bringing these surgical robots into actual hospital operating rooms. However, significant technical challenges remain. Current AI systems can accurately predict the next surgical step when shown a surgical scene, but they have not yet reached a level that reflects the subtle differences in technique between individual surgeons.

"Currently, if shown a surgical scene A, the AI can predict the next action quite accurately, but it is not yet at a level that reflects the subtle differences in technique between doctors. Ultimately, a foundation model that understands the full context of the operating room is required," stated Jung Yong-gi.

Jung Yong-gi, Professor of Otolaryngology, Samsung Medical Center

Will Surgical Robots Actually Save Money?

A critical question for hospitals considering these systems is economic viability. The research team believes humanoid surgical assistants will prove cost-effective in medical settings facing worsening staff shortages. To maintain 24-hour surgical coverage, hospitals typically need more than five people working in rotation, not just one. If a humanoid can perform at the level of a single surgical nurse, the investment could be recovered relatively quickly.

However, this economic case depends on several conditions being met. The robots must achieve reliable performance levels comparable to trained human staff, operate safely in the complex environment of an operating room, and integrate smoothly with existing surgical workflows and hospital systems. These practical requirements will ultimately determine whether surgical robots become a standard part of hospital infrastructure or remain a specialized tool for specific procedures.

How Is South Korea Positioning Itself in the Global Humanoid Race?

South Korea's surgical robotics initiative is part of a broader national strategy to establish itself as a major force in humanoid robotics alongside the United States and China. Oh Sang-rok, president of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), stated that "if Korea formulates the right strategy, a tripartite balance of power in AI humanoids is possible".

Korea's approach combines several strategic elements. The country has committed 2.3 trillion Korean won through 2030 to build a full-stack humanoid robotics ecosystem, including component development, public procurement, and training-data infrastructure. Major corporations including LG, Samsung, and Hyundai are investing in parallel humanoid development efforts, creating a domestic supply chain and prospective factory customers for testing and deployment.

Meanwhile, the broader humanoid robotics industry is experiencing rapid growth in component supply. Global cobot (collaborative robot) shipments are expected to surge from 5,000 units in 2025 to more than 43,000 units in 2026, driven largely by humanoid manufacturers sourcing mature hardware rather than building all components in-house. China is expected to account for most cobot supply to humanoid manufacturers, but suppliers worldwide stand to benefit as the market expands and companies seek to diversify their supply chains.

The surgical robotics demonstration in Seoul signals that South Korea's humanoid ambitions extend beyond factory automation into high-stakes medical applications where precision, reliability, and human-robot collaboration are paramount. Success in this domain could establish the country as a credible third pillar in global humanoid development, complementing its existing strengths in electronics manufacturing and AI research.