Page 7 - Autumn 2024

Low-cost Mobile Network supports Remote cent less than traditional software-defined radio
Robotic Surgery
Researchers at the University of Glasgow James
Watt School of Engineering have built a 4G
LTE network using inexpensive off-the-shelf
components to connect a haptic controller to a
robotic arm, allowing for near-instantaneous
control with minimal delay between input and
movement - a critical requirement for delicate
applications such as surgery.
The team used the network to perform simulated
dental examinations on a set of dentures, paving the
way for the technology to be applied to operations on
patients many miles away.
The system is based on the Open Radio Access
Network, or O-RAN, which replaces proprietary
hardware and software with open-source
alternatives. A consumer-grade USB mobile
internet dongle was reconfigured to create stable
links between a haptic controller, robotic arm
and computer acting as intelligent base station.
Specialised software, known as xApps was used to
monitor and optimise signal quality, data rates and
latency in real-time. Laboratory tests achieved data
transfer speeds of 10 Mbps with a response delay of
less than a second, sufficient for precise control of a
robotic arm. The network was also energy efficient
with power consumption of 4.5 Watts, a full 90 per
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systems performing similar tasks.
First Author Dr. Saber Hassouna states:
“ The testbed we’ve developed using commercially
available hardware shows that O-RAN can
be used to enable excellent performance in
robotic teleoperation. For applications like
dental procedures the robotic arm must move
very smoothly which requires both high data
throughput and low latency both of which we’ve
been able to achieve for the first time with O-RAN”.
Professor Qammer Abbasi, Head of the University of
Glasgow’s Sensing and Imaging Hub, adds:
“ This is a very encouraging demonstration of
the potential of O-RAN to enable fine-grained,
near real-time control of a robotic arm. We are
now working to extend this capability over longer
distances which could eventually make complex
remote tasks, including medical procedures,
viable and affordable”.
Reference: ‘Glasgow Engineers develop Low-cost Mobile Network
capable of supporting Remote Robotic Surgery’, IoT Insider, 23rd.
October.
Virtual Reality helps reduce Symptoms of Pain
A study led by the University of Exeter has compared
the effects of immersive 360-degree nature films
delivered by VR with those of conventional two-
dimensional video in providing pain relief. Results
showed that the VR was almost twice as effective at
reducing pain symptoms.
Chronic pain, which typically lasts more than three
months, is notoriously difficult to treat and in this
experiment it was simulated in 29 healthy volunteers
by administering electric shocks to the forearm.
They then viewed two types of nature scene over
a 50 minute period. Without any nature scene the
participants developed a sensitivity to sharp pricking
stimuli, mirroring the nerve pain experienced by
people with chronic conditions. They were later
immersed in a 45-minute 360-degree VR experience
of Oregon waterfalls, and on another occasion to the
same scene on a two-dimensional screen. Findings
showed that the pain relief continued for at least five
minutes after the VR experience had ended.
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