Leading Voices - Prof. Russell H. Taylor
On October 26, 2026, the Editorial Office of Intelligence & Robotics (IR, ISSN: 2770-3541) had the honor of interviewing Prof. Russell H. Taylor, a pioneer in medical robotics at Johns Hopkins University, USA, and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. The interview was conducted by Dr. Tangyou Liu from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China, and a Junior Editorial Board Member of IR.
As part of the Leading Voices in Intelligence & Robotics interview series celebrating the fifth anniversary of IR, the conversation explored the evolution of surgical robotics, the potential of AI to reshape surgeon–robot collaboration in the operating room, and the scientific challenges of enabling greater surgical robot autonomy while ensuring safety and reliability.
Below are the details of the interview:
Questions:
Q1. Congratulations on your selection for the 2027 IEEE Robotics and Automation Award, recognizing your lifelong contributions to medical robotics. You have been at the forefront of surgical robotics for decades. Looking back, what has most changed your understanding of what robots can achieve in surgery?
Q2. As AI continues to advance, how might it change the relationship between surgeons and robots in the operating room?
Q3. Looking to the future, what do you see as the most important scientific challenge in enabling surgical robots to act more autonomously while remaining safe and reliable?
About Prof. Russell H. Taylor:
Prof. Russell H. Taylor is the John C. Malone Professor of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University, USA, with joint appointments in Mechanical Engineering and several departments at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. A pioneer in medical and surgical robotics, Prof. Taylor has made seminal contributions to computer-integrated surgical systems, robot-assisted surgery, medical imaging and image-guided interventions. His research interests include artificial intelligence, robotics, human-machine cooperative systems, medical imaging and modeling, and computer-integrated interventional systems. He has authored more than 650 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications and holds over 100 patents. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and the National Academy of Inventors, among other professional societies, and was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2020. In recognition of his contributions to surgical and medical robotics, he has been selected to receive the 2027 IEEE Robotics and Automation Award.
About Dr. Tangyou Liu:
Dr. Tangyou Liu is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Electronic Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China. He received his Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales, Australia. His research interests include multimodal perception, motion control, and intelligent decision-making for surgical robotics, as well as robotics and artificial intelligence. He has published over 20 papers in leading journals and conferences, including IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Nature Reviews Bioengineering, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, and IROS. His honors include the ICRA Intelligent Perception Workshop Best Poster Award and the AIM Best Student Paper Award. He serves as a Junior Editorial Board Member of BIROB and Intelligence & Robotics and reviews for journals including Nature Communications and IEEE Transactions on Robotics.
Editor: Shine Wei
Production Editor: Xingyue Luo
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of Intelligence & Robotics
