Plaques honoring the invention that opened computing and the first surgical robot will be unveiled on November 13 at the Computer History Museum.
MENLO PARK, CA, UNITED STATES, November 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization and a public charity dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, has officially designated two SRI achievements as IEEE Milestones: Invention of SRI’s Computer Mouse, 1961–1968, and First Robotic Telepresence Surgery System, 1987–1995. The Milestones recognize innovations that changed how people work hand in hand with machines. One was a major advancement toward making computers usable by ordinary people, and the other let surgeons operate through keyhole incisions with greater precision than the human hand.
“Both ideas honored with this important recognition began as experiments in SRI’s labs, years before anyone could imagine them being used in the real world,” said James Fritz, SVP of Strategic Development and Communications for SRI. “The mouse and telepresence surgery share a single conviction at the heart of SRI: technology should extend human ability, not replace it. We are proud to see that legacy recognized by IEEE.”
The bronze Milestone plaques will be unveiled during a dedication ceremony at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., on November 13 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. PT. They will join SRI’s nine existing IEEE Milestones, including one honoring Shakey, the world’s first mobile intelligent robot, and another honoring Douglas Engelbart’s 1968 “Mother of All Demos.”
A wooden block that put computing in everyone’s hands
In 1961, at SRI’s Augmentation Research Center, Douglas Engelbart set out to make interactive computing both possible and efficient. That goal inspired the computer mouse. In 1963–1964, Engelbart and engineer Bill English created the first prototype: a small wooden block housing two perpendicular metal wheels that turned hand motion into electrical signals. SRI filed U.S. Patent 3,541,541, “X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System,” in 1967, and the mouse was a critical component of Engelbart’s landmark “Mother of All Demos” in San Francisco on December 9, 1968.
Before the mouse, using a computer meant mastering typed commands. The mouse became the everyday tool that opened graphical computing to billions of people and helped give rise to the world of human-computer interaction we know today.
Operating without a surgeon’s hands on the patient
In 1987, an SRI team led by biomedical engineer Philip S. Green began developing the first surgeon-controlled robotic telepresence surgery system, designed to let surgeons operate on patients from a remote console. The system combined stereoscopic vision, motion scaling, and tremor filtering. The result was a telemanipulator that performed dexterous, minimally invasive procedures with greater precision than the human hand.
In 1995, SRI licensed the technology to Intuitive Surgical, an SRI spin-off, where it became the da Vinci Surgical System. In 2000, the FDA cleared da Vinci as the first robotic system for general laparoscopic surgery. Today it supports complex operations, including cardiac surgery, through incisions as small as one to two centimeters.
Register here to attend the IEEE Milestone dedication event.
About the IEEE Milestones Program
IEEE’s Milestones Program recognizes significant achievements in the history of IEEE fields of interest by placing bronze plaques where they occurred. It is a program of the IEEE History Committee, administered through the IEEE History Center. Milestones recognize technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity found in unique products, services, seminal papers, and patents. They honor the achievement, rather than a place or a person. To learn more, visit https://history.ieee.org/ieee-milestones-program/.
About IEEE
IEEE is a public charity, and the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas, from global standards, aerospace systems, computers, and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power, and consumer electronics. Learn more at https://www.ieee.org.
About SRI
An independent nonprofit R&D institute, SRI has a proven 80-year history of delivering impactful technology used by billions of people every day. We create and deliver world-changing solutions for a safer and healthier future. From AI to quantum, SRI has a successful track record of delivering deep technology innovation to the real world. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, SRI has offices across the United States and in Japan. Learn more at www.sri.com.
Kelly Brieger
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The Mother of All Demos
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