On January 9, 2025, the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) hosted a guest lecture titled “Surgical Robotics: an Overview of Research and Industry” by Dr. Zhanibek Rysbek, Robot Control Engineer at Intuitive Surgical in California, USA, and alumnus of Nazarbayev University Robotics Engineering Department. Zhanibek holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dr. Varol introduced the esteemed guest reminiscing their work together on the creation of a human grasping dataset, one of the first works in Kazakhstan on data science. The lecture opened with the history and evolution of robotic surgery. Dr. Rysbek delved into robotic surgery’s technologies and clinical advantages. He then shared his experience and recent innovations in soft tissue robotic surgery, including autonomous tissue dissection, human-robot interaction, and surgical image processing. He discussed the potential for further advancements in this field in Kazakhstan and globally, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations.
During the lecture, Dr. Rysbek also discussed his professional journey, and experience in physical human-robot interaction, machine learning, computer vision, and medical robotics.
The lecture attracted high interest from the NU community members and the ISSAI team. More than 50 people attended the event. The lecture motivated and inspired the young generation of researchers. We appreciate Dr. Zhanibek for the insightful lecture and his time.