Every claim we publish is checked against the primary source: FDA filings, peer reviewed studies, official filings, not press coverage.
Autonomy
Four robots claim "autonomous." Here's where each one actually sits.
What's actually true about AI, autonomy, and surgical robotics?
Four reports. Every claim checked against FDA filings and peer-reviewed evidence — not press releases.
AI
Five FDA-cleared systems. What's cleared, inferred, or just marketing.
The Evidence Library
Registry
Nine robots mapped across six levels of autonomy.
Roadmap
Intuitive's five-layer autonomy roadmap, audited layer by layer.
The Surgical Autonomy Ladder
The Framework
Six levels, from simple assistance to independent decision making. Here's where nine real systems actually sit today, and how far the frontier still has to go.
05
04
03
02
01
00
Full Autonomy
No systems available today
High Autonomy
Executes a task, surgeon watches
Conditional Autonomy
Plans a step, surgeon approves
Task Autonomy
Automates one motion, under control
Robot Assistance
Filters and steadies the surgeon's hand
No Autonomy
Direct manual control, no filtering
Stay ahead of the next wave.
Join us to receive our free Surgical Autonomy Ladder field guide and get fresh insights delivered to you.