Haptic technology from the video camera positioned inside the patient's body to perform the procedure. Visual feedback is either similar or often superior to open procedures. The greatest limitation to these minimally invasive approaches is the impairment (in the case of traditional laparoscopy) or complete lack of tactile sensation (in the case of robotic laparoscopy) normally used to assist in surgical dissection and decision making. Despite multiple attempts, no tactile imaging device or probe is currently commercially available for laparoscopic surgery. Figure on the right presents one of the proposed devices, which is in the development phase. Haptic technology Haptic technology or
Haptic technology engineers in London as part of The Shadow Project, now known as the Shadow Robot Company, an ongoing research and development program whose goal is to complete the first convincing artificial humanoid. An early prototype can be seen in NASA's collection of humanoid robots, or robonauts. The Shadow Hand has haptic sensors embedded in every joint and finger pad, which relay information to a central computer for processing and analysis. Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania and Bielefeld University in Germany found The Shadow Hand to be an invaluable tool in advancing the understanding of haptic awareness, and in 2006 they