Choosing a Surgical Robot: Hugo vs. Versius Plus

Robotic surgery is no longer a two-horse race.

While da Vinci, Hugo, and Ottava compete for attention in the United States, another rivalry is playing out on the global stage. Medtronic's Hugo and CMR Surgical's Versius Plus are both racing to become the flexible, modular alternative to the traditional immersive robotic console.

Both platforms share a similar philosophy. Both use open consoles. Both use modular, cart based arms instead of a single integrated system. The differences show up in clinical history, imaging, and where each company is placing its bets.

Clinical experience

Clinical experience still separates challengers from incumbents.

CMR's Versius platform has completed more than 40,000 surgical procedures outside the United States, across multiple specialties and care settings. That makes its soft-tissue robotic platforms the second most widely used in the world, behind Intuitive.

Hugo has grown differently. It holds FDA clearance for urologic procedures, with 510(k) submissions filed in 2026 to expand into general and gynecologic specialties. Hugo has also been used in tens of thousands of procedures across more than 35 countries.

Both platforms are proven internationally. Neither has the long American track record that da Vinci has.

Regulatory stage in the US

This is where the two platforms currently differ most.

Hugo already received US clearance in December 2025 and is commercially active for urologic procedures.

Versius Plus received its own 510(k) clearance for cholecystectomy soon after, and is only now beginning US commercialization in 2026.

Hugo has a head start domestically. Versius Plus brings more global case volume behind it.

Console design

Neither platform isolates the surgeon.

Hugo uses an open console with 3D HD vision. Surgeons stay visually connected to the bedside team, and multiple people wearing 3D glasses can share the same view for training.

Versius Plus also uses an open console, with the same emphasis on communication and shared decision making between the surgeon and the operating room team.

Where da Vinci and Ottava favor immersion, Hugo and Versius Plus favor connection.

Imaging and visualization

Small differences start to appear here.

Hugo's imaging runs through a tower built on KARL STORZ technology, delivering standard high definition 3D vision.

Versius Plus goes a step further. It adds near infrared fluorescence imaging to highlight blood flow, along with a new ultrasonic dissector instrument. Neither feature was available on the original Versius system.

For procedures where perfusion matters, that addition could become a meaningful differentiator.

AI ecosystem

Modern robotic platforms are increasingly judged by the software layer riding on top of the hardware.

Hugo runs on Medtronic's Touch Surgery ecosystem, now expanding into Touch Surgery Aide, an AI native computing platform built on NVIDIA Holoscan, CUDA, and TensorRT. It is designed to run multiple AI applications simultaneously during live procedures.

Versius has its own digital layer. Versius Connect logs procedures automatically, while a live dashboard tracks usage, case volume, and system efficiency for the surgical team and hospital.

Medtronic is leaning on NVIDIA's compute infrastructure. CMR is leaning on years of accumulated case data.

Approved procedures

Hugo's initial approval centered on urology, with expansion into general and gynecologic surgery underway.

Versius Plus is cleared for cholecystectomy, with additional US indications planned.

Hospitals evaluating either platform should weigh current approvals against the procedures they perform most often, not the total number of indications.

Which hospitals suit each platform?

Hugo: Best for hospitals that want an open, connected console experience backed by an expanding AI compute platform and a growing library of US approvals.

Versius Plus: Best for hospitals that value a modular, portable system with strong global clinical data and newer imaging capabilities like fluorescence guidance.

Comparison at a glance

Feature	Hugo	Versius Plus
Clinical experience	Tens of thousands of procedures across 35+ countries	40,000+ procedures globally
US regulatory stage	Commercial; urology cleared	Newly cleared; US commercialization beginning in 2026
Console	Open, 3D HD	Open, 3D HD
Imaging	3D HD via KARL STORZ tower	3D HD with near-infrared fluorescence
Instrumentation	Modular robotic arms with dedicated instruments	Modular arms with expanded instrument capabilities
Digital ecosystem	Touch Surgery ecosystem with NVIDIA-powered infrastructure	Versius Connect with live usage and performance data
Procedure coverage	Urology, expanding	Cholecystectomy, expanding
Key differentiator	Open architecture and digital integration	Compact modular design and established global deployment

The bottom line

Hugo and Versius Plus are both chasing the same opening in the market, from different directions.

Hugo is betting on AI compute power and an early US foothold. Versius Plus is betting on modular design, global clinical experience, and new imaging capability.

Neither platform has da Vinci's decades of American clinical history. Both are moving quickly to build their own.

The right choice depends less on which robot is newer, and more on which strengths a hospital's specialties and infrastructure actually need.

Key takeaways

Hugo has an earlier US commercial foothold and a rapidly expanding AI compute platform built with NVIDIA.

Versius Plus brings a larger global procedure count and new imaging features including fluorescence guidance.

Both platforms use open consoles, favoring surgical team communication over full visual immersion.

The competition between them is really a competition between compute scale and accumulated clinical data.