USER PRESENCE/ABSENCE RECOGNITION DURING ROBOTIC SURGERIES USING DEEP LEARNING

Various user-presence/absence recognition techniques based on deep learning are provided. More specifically, these user-presence/absence recognition techniques include building/training a CNN-based image recognition model including a user-presence/absence classifier based on training images collected from the user-seating area of a surgeon console under various clinically-relevant conditions/cases. The trained user-presence/absence classifier can then be used during teleoperation/surgical procedures to monitor/track users in the user-seating area of the surgeon console, and continuously classify the real-time video images of the user-seating area as either a user-presence state or a user-absence state. In some embodiments, the user-presence/absence classifier can be used to detect a user-switching event at the surgeon console when a second user is detected to have entered the user-seating area after a first user is detected to have exited the user-seating area. If the second user is identified as a new user, the disclosed techniques can trigger a recalibration procedure for the new user.