Researchers from SRI International and the University of Cincinnati plan the first ever robotic surgery in simulated gravity aboard a NASA C-9 "weightless wonder" aircraft as it flies 35,000 feet above the earth. The test is expected to compare the speed and precision with which both human and robot surgeons cut and stitch an incision. The theory is that SRI software will help the robot compensate for the movement that occurs while a plane is flying through space, over a battlefield or medi-vacing an accident victim.

SRI's software allows robot surgery to be controlled from virtually anywhere. Using remote telesurgery a physician controls a multi-armed robot located at a patient's bedside via a telecommunications network. When perfected, the robot surgery system should provide emergency medical and surgical care to individuals living in remote locations on earth or even in space. The system has already passed an underwater test at the Aquarius Underwater Lab, 60 feet beneath the ocean near Key Largo, FL.