Case Study: Riverfield achieves force-sensing surgical robotics with Wind River VxWorks

Riverfield Inc builds the world’s first force-sensing surgical robot with Wind River

Riverfield Inc., a developer of medical devices and surgical robots, faced significant challenges in creating a new surgical system. Existing robots lacked force feedback, were extremely large and expensive, and often suffered from arm interference. To develop the world's first surgical robot with kinesthetic sensation, Riverfield needed a real-time operating system that could provide the high-speed, precise, and reliable control required for a medical device dealing with human lives. They turned to vendor Wind River for a solution.

By implementing Wind River's VxWorks real-time operating system, Riverfield achieved the precise millisecond-level control needed for its complex pneumatic system. This allowed the Saroa surgical robot to successfully reproduce a sense of force, giving surgeons critical tactile feedback. The solution from Wind River resulted in a robot that is not only more precise but also more compact, lightweight, and cost-effective than previous options, enabling its use in a wider range of hospitals.

Riverfield Inc