Staged force feedback transitioning between control states

A surgical system comprising:

• a first drive mechanism and a first surgical instrument actuated by the first drive mechanism;
• a second drive mechanism and a second surgical instrument actuated by the second drive mechanism;
• an input device;
• and
• a controller operably coupled to the first drive mechanism, the second drive mechanism, and the input device, wherein:
• a first control state is defined in which the controller controls the first surgical instrument via the first drive mechanism based on a first control input from a human user at the input device, receives a force indication from the first surgical instrument, and provides a first haptic feedback to the human user at the input device based at least in part on the force indication,
• a second control state is defined in which the controller controls the second surgical instrument via the second drive mechanism based on a second control input from the human user at the input device,
• a third control state is defined in which the controller provides an immediate transition from controlling the first surgical instrument in the first control state to controlling the second surgical instrument in the second control state, and provides a staged haptic feedback profile to the human user at the input device upon the immediate transition, and
• the staged haptic feedback profile is scaled from the first haptic feedback to a zero haptic force state over a time longer than the first immediate transition.

A surgical system comprising:

• a first drive mechanism and a first surgical instrument actuated by the first drive mechanism;
• a system-setting selection menu;
• an input device;
• and
• a controller operably coupled to the first drive mechanism, the system-setting selection menu, and the input device, wherein:
• a first control state is defined in which the controller controls the first surgical instrument via the first drive mechanism based on a first control input from a human user at the input device, receives a force indication from the first surgical instrument, and provides a first haptic feedback to the human user at the input device based at least in part on the force indication,
• a second control state is defined in which the controller affects a system setting in the system-setting selection menu based on a second input from the human user at the input device, and
• a third control state is defined in which the controller provides an immediate transition from controlling the first surgical instrument in the first control state to the second control state and maintains the first haptic feedback to the human user at the input device upon the immediate transition.