Steerable viewer mode activation and de-activation

A method for operating a robotic system, comprising:

• receiving head input signals indicative of head inputs provided by an operator of the robotic system to a head input device;
• receiving foot input signals indicative of foot inputs provided by the operator of the robotic system to a foot input device;
• processing the head input signals and the foot input signals;
• identifying, based on the processed head and foot input signals, that the operator has provided a command to activate a steerable viewer mode using a combination of head and foot inputs, wherein a tool supported by the robotic system is not moved and an imaging device view displayed by the robotic system is not modified in response to the combination of head and foot inputs;
• and
• causing the robotic system to enter the steerable viewer mode in response to identifying that the operator has provided the command.

A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors associated with a robotic system, cause the one or more processors to:

• receive head input signals indicative of head inputs provided by an operator of the robotic system to a head input device;
• receive foot input signals indicative of foot inputs provided by the operator of the robotic system to a foot input device;
• process the head input signals and the foot input signals;
• identify, based on the processed head and foot input signals, that the operator has provided a command to activate a steerable viewer mode using a combination of head and foot inputs, wherein a tool supported by the robotic system is not moved and an imaging device view displayed by the robotic system is not modified in response to the combination of head and foot inputs;
• and
• cause the robotic system to enter the steerable viewer mode in response to identifying that the operator has provided the command.