Can surgical robots fly? SS Innovations discusses challenges, solutions

A concept design illustration of the Vimana Aero drone. | Source: SS Innovations

Dr. Sudhir Srivastava, CEO of SS Innovations International Inc., said he hopes the medical device company will have a functional, flying surgical robot sometime in mid-2026.

SS Innovations unveiled its conceptual plan for the Vimana Aero drone in April, raising two questions: Can it be done? And if so, why?

Srivastava told Medical Design & Outsourcing that the Indian Army approached SS Innovations with a predicament. Hemorrhage is the leading cause of death among soldiers because the wounded cannot be evacuated out of war zones quickly enough.

Inspired by U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) research in the 1980s, Srivastava developed a concept design that combined SS Innovation’s technology and teleconnectivity, which could minimize the time between the point of injury and medical care.

A concept design of the Avtara humanoid robot. | Source: SS Innovations

The drone is just one of the “crazy, disruptive ideas” from SS Innovations to further expand access to telerobotic -assisted care, Srivastava said.

“I think the minute, as a philosophy, you become static, you are on a downhill course,” he said. “So, science must progress.”

SS Innovations launched SSi Mantra surgical robotic system in 2021. Since then, the Gurgaon, India-based company has introduced two new generations, including the SSi Mantra 3, which it recently submitted to the FDA for 510(k) clearance.

Srivastava said SS Innovations has installed more than 200 systems, and these systems have performed almost 11,000 surgeries, including 20 long-distance cardiac telesurgeries. SSi Mantra has earned regulatory approval in 14 countries.

The Mantra system’s telesurgical capabilities have shown low latency, Srivastava said, giving the company confidence that its technology could operate “anywhere.”

“Our focus is to really change the direction of surgery for as many patients as possible around the world,” he said. “The technology is available. All these things can be done.”

SS Innovations founder and CEO Dr. Sudhir Srivastava performs a remote procedure using the Mantra 3 system. | Source: SS Innovations

While Mantra’s telesurgical capabilities expand, Srivastava’s next projects focus on providing emergency care in war zones. The efforts hark back to robotic surgery’s origins : Intuitive Surgical and Computer Motion (which Intuitive purchased in 2003) emerged from DARPA–funded research in the 1980s and ‘90s to develop telesurgery for the battlefield.