The Evolution of Surgical Robots: From da Vinci's Monopoly to the New AI-Empowered Era
The global surgical robot market has long been dominated by Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci system, with over 8,500 units installed worldwide. But this monopoly is being broken. Between 2025 and 2026, multiple next-generation surgical robots have received regulatory approval or entered clinical use, and the deep integration of AI technology is redefining the boundaries of minimally invasive surgery.
Three Major Technological Breakthroughs
1. AI Real-Time Tissue Recognition: Represented by CMR Surgical's Versius and Johnson & Johnson / Verb Surgical's Ottava, next-generation systems incorporate deep learning models capable of distinguishing tumor tissue from normal tissue in real time, overlaying fluorescent labeling assistance for margin recognition during surgery. Medtronic's Hugo RAS system has verified AI-assisted lymph node dissection precision in 2025 clinical trials, reducing the false-negative rate by 35%.
2. Haptic Feedback and Force Sensing: One of da Vinci's biggest pain points is the lack of force feedback — surgeons cannot "feel" tissue texture. Asensus Surgical's Senhance system introduces force-sensing robotic arms that transmit mechanical information such as tissue hardness and suture tension to the operator through haptic feedback. Latest research shows that surgical robots equipped with force feedback shorten the learning curve for novice surgeons by 40-50%.
3. Autonomous Surgical Tasks: The Star robot (Johns Hopkins University) has achieved fully autonomous intestinal anastomosis in animal models — AI plans the suture path, the robot executes, with no human intervention required. While fully autonomous surgery is still far from routine clinical application, "semi-autonomous" tasks (such as autonomous suturing and autonomous hemostasis) have completed preclinical validation on multiple systems.
Market Competition Landscape
| System | Company | Global Installed Base (as of 2026 Q1) | Key Advantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| da Vinci SP/Xi | Intuitive Surgical | 8,500+ | Mature ecosystem, established surgical training system |
| Hugo RAS | Medtronic | 450+ | Modular design, suitable for community hospitals |
| Versius | CMR Surgical | 350+ | Open console, rich AI-assisted features |
| Senhance | Asensus Surgical | 150+ | Force feedback, lower cost |
| Ottava | J&J / Verb | Clinical stage | Not yet in mass production, dual-arm design |
Market Outlook
The global surgical robot market is projected to grow from $8 billion in 2025 to $28 billion by 2030 (CAGR of approximately 28%). The largest growth comes from the Asia-Pacific market — China's domestic surgical robots (such as MicroPort's Toumai and Edge Medical's MP1000) are rapidly catching up, priced at only 40-60% of da Vinci, and have already achieved over 100 installations.
Future trends: AI assistance moving from "decision support" to "execution support," haptic feedback becoming standard, and 5G-based remote surgery enabling top surgeons to overcome geographic limitations in their service reach.
POC.HK Future Technology Observatory — Independent Technology Watch Report