The DLR MIRO is the second generation of versatile robot arms for surgical applications, developed at the Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics. With its low weight of 10 kg and dimensions similar to those of the human arm, the MIRO robot can assist the surgeon directly at the operating table where space is sparse. The planned scope of applications of this robot arm ranges from guiding a laser unit for the precise separation of bone tissue in orthopaedics to setting holes for bone screws, robot-assisted endoscope guidance and on to the multi-robot concept for (endoscopic) minimal invasive surgery.

The DLR MIRO wins the iF product design award 2009 in the category “advanced studies”. The design of the DLR MIRO has been created in cooperation with Tilo Wüsthoff – Industrial design, Munich.

Surgical robotic systems can be divided into two major groups: specialized and versatile systems. Specialized systems focus either on a dedicated surgical technique or on the treatment of a specific medical disease. In contrast, the design approach of the DLR MIRO and the earlier generation KineMedic aim at a compact, slim and lightweight robot arm as a versatile core component for various existing and future medical robotic procedures.