【正文】 o the point that the main goal of medicine might be fotten or even more deviated to meet the budget demands, although the contrary should be the case. We must not fet the essence of things。m. Currently, this technology is limited to animal models but if transposed to the operating room in human subjects, such precision would be attainable only through robotic assistance. Scaling small motions and forces to the range of human perception may provide not only improved performance but also potentially the creation of novel microsurgical procedures. A telemanipulator RAMS (RobotAssisted MicroSurgery) scales down the surgeon39。s Dictionary defines as a mechanical device designed to do the work of human beings. The creation of the robot is yet another milestone along the spiral curve of human progress. It is similar to other revolutionary inventions such as the printing press, internal bustion engine, microprocessor, space travel, neurostimulation, and human genome sequencing. With technological progression es both the intrinsic benefit provided by the novel tools themselves and the increased plexity associated with them. In some cases, the plexity associated with novel tools may exceed the benefit of alleviating the problems for which they were designed. Therefore, one of key questions which arises is: Are we going to keep on building these landmarktype devices, marking our progress on the human development helix, or shall we create new generation tools that will reflect dynamically the status of human development, be a measure of progress of humanity, and separate the routine from the challenge? ROBOT VERSUS NEW TOOL Robotic systems were introduced to surgery in the early 1980s. Initial experimentation with surgical robotics consisted largely of adaptations on existing robot technology from the industrial sector. Humans and machines are plementary, rather than petitive, with one another. Situations will exist in which humans are superior to machines and machines are superior to humans. Human superiority stems from qualities such as flexibility, adaptability, judgment, and handeye coordination. Human shortings include fatigability, memory limitations, inability to simultaneously process large amounts of data, tremor, and tissue susceptible to injury. Robot superiority includes the ability to accurately position and reposition instruments, absence of tremor, uniform and controlled application of force, stamina, strength, and the ability to process vast quantities of data simultaneously. They are limited by their lack of judgment, suboptimal spatial coordination, poor adaptability, and susceptibility to malfunction. The robot marks a single point on the spiral curve of human progress. Development of this new tool should be viewed as a reflection of human development, a measure of human progress, and the ability to transform challenge into routine. We must shift our thinking from that of a deviceoriented paradigm to a purposeoriented paradigm. Advances in robot technology should not overlie an attitude of attempting to simply build the best machine possible. The goal should be to create a highly intelligent, autonomous surgical environment capable of seamlessly integrating all inputs in order to provide specialized, dedicated outputs. ROBOTS IN SURGERY Robots offer a wide array of benefits in the surgical arena. They increase the accuracy and dexterity of the surgeon, reduce the tremor of the human hand, and can amplify or reduce the movements and/or forces applied by the surgeon. The number and range of robotic applications in surgery are growing rapidly, and several classifications of robotic surgical systems have been ,77 However, few validated solutions are cur rently available. When validating a roboticassisted task, the key requirements to be considered are safety, accuracy, sterility, integration in the operating room, and measurable benefits (such as reduced operative time, reduced surgical trauma, and improved clinical outes). We review here the currently available robotassisted applications from two aspects: task performed and surgical area. RobotAssisted Tasks Typical surgical tasks being robotized include instrument positioning and micropositioning, trajectory planning and precise needle insertion, free motion allowing the instrument to be arbitrarily positioned and oriented, motion in a constrained region, motion and force scaling, bone cutting, drilling, milling, and shaping, and soft tissue cutting and destructing, among many other tasks. Positioning Robotassisted positioning overes the human hand39。s Perspecti