The Robot That Sees Where It’s Going: VinUniversity’s Vision for Smarter, Safer Surgery Inside the Body

Gastrointestinal cancers are among the world’s deadliest, yet the tools used to detect them — rigid, operator-dependent endoscopes — have changed little in decades. At VinUniversity, Dr. Thai Mai Thanh is building what comes next. His project develops an AI-Enhanced Soft Robotic Endoscopy System that combines soft continuum robotics, foundation model-driven design automation, and SLAM-based real-time 3D navigation to make colonoscopy safer, more precise, and less reliant on operator skill. This work sits at the frontier mapped by a 2026 review in Advanced Science, co-authored by Dr. Thai and VinUniversity colleagues, which identifies soft robotics as the primary hardware enabler for minimally invasive bioprinting and autonomous navigation, and discusses AI integration as critical for enhancing adaptability and functional outcomes in next-generation endoscopic systems. Together, the review and the project reflect VinUniversity’s broader commitment to translating cutting-edge robotics research into clinical tools that directly reduce the human cost of cancer.

Access the full article at: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202523532