Research

My research focuses on surgical robotics, with an emphasis on the da Vinci Research Kit (dVRK). I work on developing high-fidelity simulation environments, multi-modal data collection systems, dynamic model identification, and AI-driven perception and automation for surgical robotics applications.

SurgSync: Time-Synchronized Multi-modal Data Collection Framework and Dataset for Surgical Robotics

Multi-Modal Time-Synchronized Data Collection and Post-Processing Framework for Surgical Robotics, along with datasets and AI-driven applications (stay tuned!)

Zhou, H.*, Liu, C.*, Wu, Y., ..., & Kazanzides, P.

IEEE Intl. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2026

[Website Coming Soon] [arXiv Coming Soon] [Code Coming Soon] [Dataset Coming Soon] [Under Review]

Digital Twin for Suturing Scenes

High-fidelity simulation environments for suturing execution on AMBF and NVIDIA Isaac Sim

Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | 2022-2026

Robot-Assisted Suturing in Surgical Simulation: A Comparative Analysis between NVIDIA's Simulator and an Open Platform

Kim, T. W., Zhou, H., Barragan, J. A., ..., & Munawar, A.. Journal of Medical Robotics Research, 2026.

[Paper]

Surgical Robotics Environment in NVIDIA Isaac Sim for Robot-Assisted Suturing

Kim, T. W., Zhou, H., Barragan, J. A., ..., & Munawar, A.. Intl. Symp. on Medical Robotics (ISMR), IEEE, 2025.

[Paper] [Code]

FIRE-3DV: Framework-Independent Rendering Engine for 3D Graphics Using Vulkan

Allison, C. J., Zhou, H., Munawar, A., Kazanzides, P., & Barragan, J. A.. IEEE Intl. Conf. on Robotic Computing (IRC), 2024.

[arXiv] [Paper] [Code]

SurgicAI: A Hierarchical Platform for Fine-Grained Surgical Policy Learning and Benchmarking

Wu, J., Zhou, H., Kazanzides, P., Munawar, A., & Liu, A.. NeurIPS Datasets and Benchmarks Track, 2024.

[arXiv] [Paper] [Code]

Realistic Data Generation for 6D Pose Estimation of Surgical Instruments

Barragan, J. A., Zhang, J., Zhou, H., Munawar, A., & Kazanzides, P.. IEEE Intl. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2024.

[Website] [arXiv] [Paper] [Code] [Dataset]

Surgical Robot Dynamic Model Identification and Control

Dynamic model identification and gravity compensation (shown) for dVRK-Si PSM using convex optimization; upcoming journal paper is on the way, stay tuned! Develop a novel force estimation method using a modal-based and learning-based hybrid approach for trocar interaction.

Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | 2022-2026

Gravity Compensation of the dVRK-Si Patient Side Manipulator based on Dynamic Model Identification

Zhou, H., Yang, H., Deguet, A., ..., & Kazanzides, P.. Hamlyn Symp. on Medical Robotics, 2025.

[arXiv] [Paper] [Code] oral presentation

A Hybrid Model and Learning-Based Force Estimation Framework for Surgical Robots

Yang, H., Zhou, H., Fischer, G. S., & Wu, J. Y.. IEEE/RSJ Intl. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2024.

[arXiv] [Paper]

SurgPose: a Dataset for Articulated Robotic Surgical Tool Pose Estimation and Tracking

Dataset for surgical tool pose estimation and tracking, using fluorescent paints to annotate the keypoints of the tools.

Wu, Z., Schmidt, A., Moore, R., Zhou, H., ..., & Salcudean, S. E.

IEEE Intl. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2025

[Website] [arXiv] [Code] [Dataset]

Suturing Tasks Automation Based on Skills Learned from Demonstrations: A Simulation Study

Implementation of imitation learning algorithms for automating surgical suturing tasks in simulation

Zhou, H., Jiang, Y., Gao, S., ..., & Fischer, G. S.

Intl. Symp. on Medical Robotics (ISMR), IEEE, 2024

[arXiv] [Paper]

Suturing Needle Tracking and Pose Estimation in Simulation

Real-time markerless 6D pose estimation for suturing needle in simulation, achieving 1.4mm and 2.9 degrees median errors

Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester, MA | 2021-2023

Development and Evaluation of a Markerless 6 DOF Pose Tracking Method for a Suture Needle from a Robotic Endoscope

Jiang, Y., Zhou, H., & Fischer, G. S.. Journal of Medical Robotics Research, 2023.

[Paper]

Markerless suture needle tracking from a robotic endoscope based on deep learning

Jiang, Y., Zhou, H., & Fischer, G. S.. Intl. Symp. on Medical Robotics (ISMR), IEEE, 2023.

[Paper]

Surgical Robotics System Integration and Teleoperation

Integration of photo-acoustic probes, advanced teleoperation with sEMG biofeedback, and etc.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester, MA | 2022

Intraoperative laparoscopic photoacoustic image guidance system in the da Vinci surgical system

Gao, S., Wang, Y., Ma, X., Zhou, H., Jiang, Y., Yang, K., ..., & Zhang, H. K.. Biomedical Optics Express, 2023.

[Paper]

Laparoscopic photoacoustic imaging system integrated with the da Vinci surgical system

Gao, S., Wang, Y., Zhou, H., Yang, K., Jiang, Y., Lu, L., ..., & Zhang, H. K.. Medical Imaging: Image-Guided Procedures, Robotic Interventions, and Modeling, SPIE, 2023.

[Paper]