# Voice control interface for surgical robot assistants

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.10225 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.10225/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 16 Sep 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Assessing the Value of Visual Input: A Benchmark of Multimodal Large Language Models for Robotic Path Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.12391/) (2025)
- [Enhancing Speech Instruction Understanding and Disambiguation in Robotics via Speech Prosody](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.02057/) (2025)
- [Beyond Single Models: Enhancing LLM Detection of Ambiguity in Requests through Debate](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.12370/) (2025)
- [Voice-Interactive Surgical Agent for Multimodal Patient Data Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.07392/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Traditional control interfaces for robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery impose a significant cognitive load on surgeons. To improve surgical efficiency, surgeon-robot collaboration capabilities, and reduce surgeon burden, we present a novel voice control interface for surgical robotic assistants. Our system integrates Whisper, state-of-the-art speech recognition, within the ROS framework to enable real-time interpretation and execution of voice commands for surgical manipulator control. The proposed system consists of a speech recognition module, an action mapping module, and a robot control module. Experimental results demonstrate the system's high accuracy and inference speed, and demonstrates its feasibility for surgical applications in a tissue triangulation task. Future work will focus on further improving its robustness and clinical applicability.