Big Doctor

Big Brother Doctor

One of Atlas’ favorite Yogi-isms is, “you can observe a lot by watching.”  There is a simple truth to this statement which resonates here as close eyes are kept on both the economy and financial markets.  Watching doesn’t have to be so serious though.  Box offices are holding out hope for a strong weekend of movie watching in theaters (Joey C. offered his positive review of the recently released movie Wicked), while binge-watching has become an American pastime.  Watching is all around us now.  Smart phones are constantly taking in data about their users as are other smart devices around homes and communities, just ask Sly & the Family Stone.

Robots are getting in on the action!  According to this recent article from Johns Hopkins University, surgical robots are now being trained by simply watching videos of seasoned surgeons.  Imagine a robot binge-watching surgery videos like it’s the latest Netflix series, only to come out the other side ready to perform complex procedures with the skill of a human doctor.  These robots are performing three fundamental tasks necessary for surgery: manipulating a needle, lifting body tissue, and suturing.  Allegedly, the “trained” robots performed as well as their human counterparts. 

This is impressive technology.  It is quite common to seek out videos to be taught a quick skill; this is like the ultimate “how-to” video marathon.  Instead of assembling furniture, however, these robots are mastering the art of suturing and tissue manipulation.  Who knew that the key to advancing medical robotics was a little bit of screen time?  So next time you catch your smart device observing you, just remember, it might not be spying on you but training for its next job.