A robot surgeon has been taught to perform a delicate procedure--stitching soft tissue together with a needle and thread--more precisely and reliably than even the best human doctor. The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR), developed by researchers at Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C., uses an advanced 3-D imaging system and very precise force sensing to apply stitches with submillimeter precision. The system was designed to copy state-of-the art surgical practice, but in tests involving living pigs, it proved capable of outperforming its teachers. Currently, most surgical robots are controlled remotely, and no automated surgical system has been used to manipulate soft tissue. So the work, described today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, shows the potential for automated surgical tools to improve patient outcomes.