Major study set to compare the use of surgical robots and standard methods in knee replacement A major national study will pitch human skill against machine precision as it compares the benefits of knee replacement surgery performed using a robot to a surgeon using traditional methods. Knee replacements are now very common operations; over 100,000 procedures are performed each year in the UK. The RACER (Robotic Arthroplasty: a Clinical and cost Effectiveness Randomized controlled trial) study is set to compare the use of surgical robots to standard instruments in an effort to determine which of the two techniques is best at improving patient outcomes and reducing pain following surgery.