Medtronic Covidien's robot

 

Still nothing is sure about the launch of the next big player's system, but experts talk about something coming from Medtronic soon (Q2-Q3 2016). Rumor has it, their solution is based on an existing platforms that is engineeringly very capable, and able to get around Intuitive's swarm of patents. 

"Lastly, Almeida touted Covidien's robotics research, saying, "It is a program we have not spoken a lot about. It's based in 3 different places in the world where the expertise lies. We have a relentless effort to make sure that once you come up with something along those lines, it will be at a cost that is effective to the hospital," according to the Seeking Alpha transcript. He added, "We're very, very confident we're going to come up with something. I'm not going to commit on the time, but (it will be) something that will be different and hopefully and possibly better than what's out there today."

Covidien is also hiring roboticists.

Source: Fierce Medical Devices