Humanoid Robots Perform Gallbladder Removal on Live Pig

Two Unitree G1 humanoid robots performed a gallbladder removal on a live pig in an experiment led by a University of California, San Diego team. The robots retracted tissue, dissected, clipped vessels, and extracted the gallbladder under constant remote control by trained surgeons.

The robots were standard commercial models priced under $20,000 each, equipped with three-fingered dexterous hands, wrist and waist articulation, 3D LiDAR, and depth cameras. They remained tethered during the operation to prevent accidental falls.

The surgery replicated standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy steps on porcine tissue. Researchers selected unmodified, off-the-shelf platforms rather than purpose-built surgical systems to test whether general-purpose humanoids could handle complex medical tasks.

The team reported that the humanoid form factor offers potential for assisting with surgical tasks but noted that current systems still face precision, control, and safety requirements for minimally invasive procedures.

The paper published in Nature states that key technical challenges must be addressed before any clinical deployment. Human oversight remained essential throughout the procedure. Researchers noted that low-cost, general-purpose humanoids could eventually extend surgical care to remote regions and medical deserts where specialist access is limited, offering an alternative to fixed, multi-million-dollar dedicated surgical robots.