UC San Diego researchers used teleoperated humanoid robots to complete two gallbladder-removal surgeries in pigs, including one procedure involving a human assistant and another briefly using two robots together. The compact, 5-foot-tall robots handled standard laparoscopic tools and completed major surgical steps without switching to conventional or open surgery, suggesting humanoids could eventually offer a cheaper, more portable alternative to specialized surgical systems. Performance remained below established surgical robots because of control delays, limited reach, reduced curved-motion accuracy, overheating, weak arm strength and repeated recalibration that interrupted the procedures. The study involved only two animal operations and does not support human use. Major challenges include sterilization, reliability, precision, autonomy and testing across more procedures before humanoid robots could be used in hospitals, rural clinics or disaster zones. Two humanoid robots stood beside an operating table and completed tasks once reserved for specialized surgical machines. Their successful gallbladder procedures in pigs mark a first, but they also exposed how far the technology remains from human operating rooms. Engineers and surgeons at the University of California San …