The DARPA Surgical Competition is designed to rapidly advance the state of the art in autonomous trauma surgical robots.
With a prize pool of USD$3.5M, the competition aims to spur the development of robotic systems that can act as skilled, reliable partners to human surgeons. Utilizing an “apprenticeship model,” the competition will test emerging systems on their ability to collaboratively assist human surgeons during complex trauma procedures, and ultimately, independently execute lifesaving surgical interventions.
The Surgical Competition calls on teams from across the world to create robotic systems capable of assisting and, eventually, independently performing complex surgical procedures in unpredictable trauma environments. The goal is to assist human surgeons, creating a force multiplier that provides “infinite” surgical capacity on demand.
Teams are to submit a written proposal and video demonstrations for the qualification round by 30 October 2026.
Ten teams will be selected from eligible qualifiers to participate in a workshop event (15 – 24 January 2027) and the competition event (20 – 26 March 2027).
Please note – qualifying teams will be responsible for funding their attendance at the workshop and competition events.
Documents
DSC – Competition Rules – darpa-competition-surgical-rules
DSC – Terms & Conditions – darpa-competition-terms-conditions
DSC – Qualification Guide – darpa-competition-surgical-qualification-guide
