Surgical Robotics have someone's life in its mechanical hands, and now it's being combined with a video game console accessory the Microsoft Kinect. The concept is to give surgeons feedback during operation.Surgeons already use various HMIs to control the robotic arms, viewing via cameras. This method removes the surgeons real touch from the operation. Electrical engineering graduate student Fredrik Ryden solved this problem by writing code that allowed the Kinect to map and react to environments in three dimensions, and send spatial information about that environment back to the user.For example, if the tool touches a bone it will make the joystick, in this case, that is controlling to stop moving. Ryden's software allows for areas to be defined as "off-limits," which could be a vital organ, and give the same effect as with the bone.The project is part of a larger research effort at the electrical engineering department’s BioRobotics Lab to improve surgical robotic methods. The team hopes to integrate its feedback system into a collaboration of different systems. For more information please visit: http://dailyuw.com/2011/1/18/uw-students-adapt-gaming-hardware-robotic-surgery/