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University of Washington students and researchers pose on the Ender’s Game set with Harrison Ford, director Gavin Hood and the “Raven II.” Photo courtesy of the University of Washington.

If you happen to catch “Ender’s Game” at the theaters this weekend, there’s a little Seattle love in the form of a ridiculous surgical robot that was designed and put together in part by the University of Washington.

"The Raven." Photo courtesy of the University of Washington.
“The Raven II.” Photo courtesy of the University of Washington.

The “Raven II,” a joint project built by the UW and University of California Santa Cruz, appears in the motion picture performing a faux brain surgery on one of the actors.

After director Gavin Hood reached out wanting to use the robot, UW students Hawkeye King and Lee White packed up the Raven II and flew to the movie set in New Orleans. There, they were responsible for operating the robot during live action shots using computer monitors and controllers.

The original Raven was built at the UW in 2005 in a partnership with the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (MRMC). The Raven II is currently only a research tool, but the eventual goal is to move the robot into operating rooms to perform actual surgery.

“Ender’s Game,” starring Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield, is based on the 1980 Orson Scott Card novel and debuts tonight. Read more about King and White’s experience here.

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