Surgical training using haptics over long internet distances

Abstract

This paper describes a collaborative surgical training prototype using haptics, which has been able to operate across the world. It allows two users to collaboratively manipulate a simulation of pliable human body organs, as well as guide each other's 'hands' over 22,000 km of internet connection. It uses a force impulse collection mechanism feeding haptics data to a single physics server program. The server runs a 'pseudo' physics model that is resilient to latency.