Bitrack

Chronology

Posted Jul 20, 2026

Updated Sep 6, 2026

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CE Mark for urology Jul 18, 2026.

Late 2025, Jaume Amat stepped down from executive leadership. New CEO: Mario Ferradosa.

Clinical studies and CE submission 2024-2025.

First human procedure. 2023.

Technical validation completed. 2018.

First animal procedures.2014.

Rob Medical founded. 2012.

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Overview

Bitrack is a robotic-assisted surgical system for minimally invasive soft-tissue surgery developed by Rob Surgical, a Barcelona-based company founded in 2012 as a spin-off of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC). The company emerged from more than a decade of academic research in surgical robotics, including collaborations with the Mayo Clinic.

The original research received support through European research programmes (including FP7 EuRoSurge) and later participated in collaborative R&D projects supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) together with leading Spanish research institutions such as UPC, IBEC, Vall d’Hebron Research Institute and IDIBAPS.

Rob Surgical has established its own manufacturing facility near Barcelona. The company plans to progressively scale production while expanding its surgical instrument portfolio, representing one of the few complete soft-tissue surgical robotic platforms developed and manufactured in Europe.

The system has recently obtained CE marking, allowing its commercialization in the European market.

System configuration and robotic architecture

Bitrack is a master-slave, multiport robotic platform designed for laparoscopic surgery. Its architecture consists of a surgeon console with immersive 3D visualization, and single patient-side cart with four robotic arms (a dedicated vision arm and three instrument arms, with no instrument distal support).

It has an open architecture allowing conventional laparoscopic instruments to be used simultaneously with robotic instruments (this is the hybrid surgery concept). According to the company, this allows surgeons to combine robotic precision only during the critical parts of an operation while maintaining the speed and flexibility of standard laparoscopy whenever appropriate.

One distinctive feature is the use of a passive Remote Center of Motion (RCM). Rather than actively controlling the trocar pivot point through software, Bitrack employs a mechanical architecture that naturally constrains motion around a fixed fulcrum. This passive mechanism minimizes forces at the abdominal wall while simplifying the robotic kinematics. This solution contrasts with systems using software-controlled or actively compensated remote centers.

Our perspective

Bitrack represents one of the most ambitious European robotic surgery projects developed outside the traditional market leaders.

Technically, it follows the well-established multiport architecture while introducing several thoughtful engineering refinements, particularly its passive remote center mechanism and hybrid surgery philosophy. Rather than reinventing robotic surgery, Rob Surgical has focused on improving workflow, usability, and cost efficiency, an increasingly relevant strategy as the surgical robotics market becomes more crowded.

Perhaps even more importantly, Bitrack demonstrates that Europe remains capable of translating high-level academic robotics research into a commercially approved surgical platform. Whether it secures a significant share of an increasingly competitive market remains to be seen, but its successful path from university research to CE-marked medical device is already a noteworthy achievement.

Prior to commencing my venture into robotic surgery, I had established a firm grounding as an oncologic surgeon. My experience encompassed a wide range of resective and reconstructive procedures, as well as proficiency in minimally invasive surgical techniques and endoscopic surgery. These acquired skills and expertise serve as fundamental pillars for achieving success in robotic surgery.

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