The robots are coming for your job or business

You might expect the operating theatre to be one of the last places you'd find robotics in action but, increasingly, you'd be wrong. The OT is typically the most labour-intensive and expensive part of a hospital -- which, in this age of spiraling health costs, makes it a priority for any cost-savings that can be achieved through systemisation and standardisation. Robotic surgery, or robot-assisted surgery, has the advantage that it allows doctors to perform many types of complex procedures with more precision, flexibility and control than they could with conventional techniques. Given the speed at which robotics is advancing, how long will it be before robots start making all the decisions on surgery without the need for human control or intervention? OK, you say, that's fine where standard and predictable procedures are required.