Collaborative Prototyping for Robotic-Assisted Surgery: Eliciting Tacit, Embodied, and Situated Knowledge

This paper presents a human-centred design study examining how low-fidelity and embodied prototyping methods can elicit design-relevant knowledge for robotic-assisted surgery. Focusing on femoral cement removal in revision total hip arthroplasty (rTHA), we conducted a design-led workshop involving a senior orthopaedic surgeon with expertise in complex revision cases, a surgical assistant, a robotics engineer from an industry partner developing orthopaedic surgical robots, and a team of design researchers. Through scenario-based roleplay, task enactment, and spatial configuration activities, we surfaced tacit, embodied, and situated insights into anatomical factors, instrument design, surgeon–robot ergonomics, shared control models, and operating theatre layout. These findings highlight challenges and opportunities for integrating robotic systems into complex surgical procedures and demonstrate how collaborative exploratory prototyping can support early-stage reflection and interdisciplinary knowledge exchange. Rather than validating a specific solution, the study contributes both a transferable methodological approach for eliciting design insights in high-risk, highly constrained environments, and formative insights into the design of robotic-assisted surgical systems for rTHA.