FLINT, Mich. -- A robotic surgery machine on display at the Flint Institute of Arts is part of an exhibit exploring the art and evolution of video games.
The da Vinci Surgical model from Intuitive Surgical Inc. is a new addition to "The Art of Video Games" exhibit that runs until Jan. 18, The Flint Journal reported. It was built to allow surgery to be performed via a 3-D camera and hand controls.
Associate Curator Ashley Phifer said the machine shares technology used in video games.
Visitors to the art museum can try out the machine, using its pincers to pick up small rubber bands and other objects. The model at the Flint Institute of Arts, a training system, is on loan from Hurley Medical Center. The Flint area's hospitals all use such machines.
There are similarities to video games in the way people work with the machine, using hand controls and watching the work on a screen. Those who haven't used the machine before can be surprised to learn that the objects they're picking up actually are small.
"These look like they're so big, but you look at them on the table and they're really tiny," said Katie Leist of Flushing after trying it out.
Organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the travelling exhibit explores the 40-year progression of video games as an art form and global phenomenon. To accompany the exhibition, the museum organized a number of public programs.
Event details are posted on the museum's website.
