The U.S. FDA’s clearance of Medtronic plc’s Hugo robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system is certainly a boon for the company which is betting on the unit to be a key growth driver. While the soft tissue robotics market is dominated by Intuitive Surgical Inc.’s da Vinci system, the space is growing, and Medtronic has the scale, resources and market presence to make headway but there are also a plethora of smaller, versatile and cost-effective systems looking for a piece of the pie.