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American space agency Nasa has today begun a series of tests on remote controlled robots it hopes will one day be used to perform surgery during space flights.
The trials are taking place in an underwater operating theatre that simulates conditions in space.
The robots, called Raven and M-7, are operated by surgeons on a land station via the internet.
Seattle doctor Thomas Lendvay is one of those taking part in the tests and he is confident the robots will meet expectations.
"The movements are all intuitive in the sense that if I move my left arm from left to right, the instrument moves in the exact same way," he said.
"As I travel through space, as I twist my wrist the instrument will also twist."
The two robots could one day be used to perform emergency surgery, should an accident occur on a manned Nasa mission.
But its makers say it could potentially be used to operate on injured soldiers in war zones.
- RADIO AUSTRALIA
