What could go wrong? Watch as two humanoid robots perform SURGERY on pigs - as scientists say humans could be next

Humanoid robots have performed surgery on live animals for the very first time in an astonishing new breakthrough.As part of a pre-clinical trial, two humanoid robots were remotely operated by surgeons to perform keyhole surgery on pigs.In one operation, a teleoperated robot was assisted by a human to remove a pig's gallbladder.Meanwhile, a first-of-its-kind operation saw two robots working side by side in a robot-robot team.The Unitree G1 robots, nicknamed Surgie, were fitted with specialised adapters so they could hold surgical tools but were otherwise unmodified.The researchers say Surgie is just as precise as a conventional surgical robot, but only costs a fraction of the price and is far easier to set up and use.And with a growing shortfall of skilled surgeons to meet patients' needs, the researchers say the bots could one day be used to operate on humans.Senior author Professor Michael Yip, of UC San Diego, says: 'You can imagine these robots being deployed in remote communities where staffing is challenging, or in austere environments like search and rescue scenarios.' Humanoid robots have performed surgery on live animals for the very first time in an astonishing new breakthrough The Unitree G1 robots were fitted with specialised adapters to hold surgical tools and remotely controlled by a human operator The researchers began by testing the robots' capacity for fine motor skills, having them handle inanimate objects and standard surgical equipment.Once the team was satisfied, the robots graduated to performing real surgical procedures on anaesthetised pigs.According to a report published in the journal Nature, both operations were completed successfully.At one point there was some minor bleeding, but the robots were able to quickly stem the flow.In fact, the researchers say that they were 'surprised' at just how well the robots functioned.Controlling the movements of a humanoid felt more natural than moving the arms of a large surgical robot, especially for people not trained on those specialised systems.This raises the possibility that humanoid robots could soon be a key part of surgical teams working on real human patients. Professor Yip says: 'Remotely operated and autonomous humanoid robots have real potential for amplifying access to critical surgeries to which patients would otherwise not have access.' In one surgery, a humanoid robot was assisted by a human while it performed a gallbladder removal on an anaesthetised pig The researchers say that these humanoid robots are cheaper, lighter, and easier to control than traditional robotic surgical systems Surgeons already use specialised robotic surgery systems equipped with three or four robotic arms to operate on patients.The problem is that these systems can weigh up to 800kg (1,800lb), require a large team to set up, and take up a lot of space in the operating room, which usually needs to be retrofitted to accommodate it.By contrast, Surgie is just five feet (1.5m) tall and weighs just 27kg (60lb), even with its specialised adapters fitted.This makes these compact humanoids a perfect option for situations where cumbersome traditional robots just aren't feasible.Co-author Dr Shanglei Liu, a surgeon at UC San Diego, says: 'It's a fraction of the cost and it takes a fraction of the space in an operating room. So it’s easy to deploy, anywhere from rural areas to the battlefield, and even to space.'However, the robots are far from perfect, and the researchers say there are still a few problems that need ironing out.Most notably, Surgie had to be recalibrated multiple times throughout the operation; this took up valuable time and meant the surgery took a lot longer than expected.Similarly, the latency, a delay between the operator's input and the robot's output, will need to be reduced before the bots are fully practical. In the future, robots like these could be used to treat humans in areas where large surgical teams and specialised robots aren't feasible Yet the team are extremely optimistic that these issues are solvable in the near future, pointing out that the first robotic keyhole surgery took six hours to complete a task that now takes 30 minutes.Even if Surgie isn't quite ready to put a human under the knife, the researchers say that it could have a bright future as an assistant.Since the humanoid bots can walk about and perform most tasks that a human can do, they would be perfect for fetching tools and cleaning up after an operation.Professor Yip adds: 'Many communities struggle with adequate staffing on the surgical team, which means patients are not being treated.'Our goal is an operating theatre of the future, where humanoid robots and humans work side by side as an integrated team to deliver procedures to those in need.'WILL YOUR JOB BE TAKEN BY A ROBOT? PHYSICAL JOBS ARE AT THE GREATEST RISKPhysical jobs in predictable environments, including machine-operators and fast-food workers, are the most likely to be replaced by robots.Management consultancy firm McKinsey, based in New York, focused on the amount of jobs that would be lost to automation, and what professions were most at risk.The report said collecting and processing data are two other categories of activities that increasingly can be done better and faster with machines. This could displace large amounts of labour - for instance, in mortgages, paralegal work, accounting, and back-office transaction processing.Conversely, jobs in unpredictable environments are least are risk.The report added: 'Occupations such as gardeners, plumbers, or providers of child- and eldercare - will also generally see less automation by 2030, because they are technically difficult to automate and often command relatively lower wages, which makes automation a less attractive business proposition.'