Ensuring a reliable collaboration between humans and robots: Researchers at the CeTI Cluster of Excellence receive prestigious Reinhart Koselleck funding

Stefanie Speidel, Professor of Translational Surgical Oncology, and Martin Wagner, Professor of AI-based Assistance Systems in Surgery, were awarded the prestigious Reinhart Koselleck grant by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The grant, which was made available to interdisciplinary teams for the first time, is endowed with EUR 1.2M over five years. The researchers want to use the funding to enable reliable collaboration between humans and robots in the operating room.

As part of the interdisciplinary project "Balancing the Odds by Simulating Rare Cases for Surgical Data Science" (SIMSURGE), the research team is striving to develop semi-automated methods for creating a large number of realistic surgical simulations - especially with regard to rare and critical cases - in order to advance surgical artificial intelligence (AI) and data science, as well as to train robots for surgery. By combining precise physical modeling with generative AI, the project will create data-rich environments that improve realism, diversity and scientific accuracy.

 The insights gained will help to reduce bias in surgical AI, improve quality assurance and enable a safer collaboration between humans and robots in the operating room - ultimately supporting surgical training and decision-making.

About the Reinhart Koselleck Program
Reinhart Koselleck projects stand for more freedom in pursuing particularly innovative research. Researchers with a proven scientific track record are given the opportunity to carry out highly innovative and, in a positive sense, risky projects.

About the Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI) Cluster of Excellence
The CeTI Cluster of Excellence at TUD Dresden University of Technology is researching how to enable humans and machines to exchange skills and work together in real and virtual spaces. The aim is to develop innovative solutions for major global challenges, including pandemics, aging societies, skills shortages, climate change and geopolitical problems. Building on the first funding phase (CeTI1), CeTI2 will investigate a variety of application possibilities, including immersive remote collaboration, reduced need to travel through advanced telepresence and strengthened technological independence through internal development. CeTI continues to work on an interdisciplinary basis with researchers from the fields of electrical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, medicine, psychology and neuroscience, among others. CeTI also understands its societal role: It plans to interact with more than 600 schools in the second funding phase and strives to pique the interest of young people in STEM subjects from an early age.

Contact: 
Prof. Stefanie Speidel
Translational Surgical Oncology
Tel.: +49 351 458 5413
stefanie.speidel@nct-dresden.de

Univ.-Prof. Martin Wagner 
AI-based Assistance Systems in Surgery
Tel.:+49 351 458-18283
Martin.Wagner@ukdd.de