Methods and systems for controlling a surgical robot

A system for robot-assisted surgery, comprising:

• a robotic arm including a joint arranged between linkages, and an encoder associated with the joint;
• a mounting surface to which the robotic arm is attached during use;
• a mobile cart arranged to receive the robotic arm for storage and/or transport;
• a motion tracking system configured to track the location of the mobile cart relative to the robotic arm, the motion tracking system comprising an optical sensor device;
• and
• a controller coupled to the robotic arm and to the motion tracking system, the controller comprising a processor configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising:
• tracking the location of the mobile cart relative to the robotic arm using the motion tracking system;
• determining the arrangement of the joint of the robotic arm based on signals from the encoder;
• and
• controlling the robotic arm to move at least one linkage of the robotic arm to place the robotic arm into a pose that facilitates transferring the robotic arm from the mounting surface to the mobile cart based on the tracked location of the mobile cart determined with the optical sensor device.