SAMSUNG's MIS robot system

SAMSUNG has been working on its own NOTES surgical robot for a while. They have even made some publication (e.g. at last IROS).

"Samsung's invention relates to providing a surgical robot including a surgical instrument configured to easily pass through a bent guide tube. In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, in a surgical robot including a slave device provided with a surgical instrument, the surgical instrument includes a body having at least one link that includes a plurality of solenoid segments, and an end effector mounted to one end of the body. In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a surgical robot includes a body including a plurality of electromagnetic solenoid segments, where at least a portion of the body becomes rigid or flexible depending on a generated polarity of an energized state of each of the plurality of electromagnetic solenoid segments. In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a method of controlling a surgical robot including a body including a plurality of electromagnetic solenoid segments includes energizing a first portion of the electromagnetic solenoid segments with a first voltage, and energizing a second portion of the electromagnetic solenoid segments with a second voltage, where the plurality of electromagnetic solenoid segments are selectively rigid or flexible depending on the first voltage and the second voltage."

Source: Patently Mobile

Other Korean groups are also active in this domain.

At IROS2013, SAMSUNG has already presented:  Modeling and control of robotic surgical platform for single-port access surgery: