Washington, Apr 20 : Raven, the mobile surgical robot developed by University of Washington’s BioRobotics Lab researchers will spend 12 days in the 400 square foot underwater ‘Aquarius’ habit being used by NASA for its space simulation and training programme.

The robot, which weighs only 50 pounds, is equipped with nimble appendages with which it can suture wounds and perform minimally invasive surgeries.

The 12th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations test will take place from May 7 to 18 off the coast of Florida. During the mission, Raven will operate in the Aquarius Undersea Laboratory, a submarine-like research pod about 60 feet underwater.

This mission will test current technology for sending remote-controlled surgical robotic systems into space.

For the entire duration the surgical robotic system will be put through its paces in the underwater capsule that mimics conditions in a space shuttle, while surgeons back in Seattle will guide its movements.

During the mission, four crewmembers will assemble the robot and perform experiments.

The two larger-than-life black robotic arms will use surgical instruments to suture a piece of rubber and move blocks from one spindle to another on what looks like a delicate children’s toy.

Drs. Mika Sinanan and Andrew Wright of the University of Washington’s Medical Center, and Dr. Thomas Lendvay of Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, the brains behind the robot’s movements operate Raven sitting in front of a computer screen in Seattle.

According to the researchers, Instructions will travel over a commercial Internet connection from Seattle to Key Largo, Florida and then via a special wireless connection from there to a buoy, and finally via cable underwater. Images of the simulated patient will travel back over the same network. (ANI)