IROS 2023 WORKSHOP
ROBOTICS FOR THE GUT

Robotic systems for treatment and diagnosis of the gastrointestinal tract have attracted increasing attention in the last two decades. Miniaturization of mechanical and electronic components has enabled researchers to develop functional capsules with robotic capabilities including locomotion, delivery and collection of samples. Numerous exciting applications, such as drug delivery, tissue biopsy, detection of gut related diseases, have been realised in vivo. In addition to further development of novel platforms, this research area is now at the point where it faces the challenges of transforming exceptional research prototypes into robust and marketable products. A wide variety of research domains are required for this field including locomotion, localisation, actuation, sensing, manufacturing and instrumentation. This workshop aims to bring people together from across the international robotics community and leading commercial entities to present an overview of the application domains of gut related robotics, and the challenges that should be addressed for realization of these systems. Presentations of both recognized research teams and highly promising early-career researchers will help to advance the state-of-the-art scientific results in the direction of marketable products.