Synthetic representation of a surgical robot

A medical system comprising:

• first and second tools, the first tool including a first elongated shaft and a first end effector, the first end effector coupled to a distal end of the first elongated shaft, the second tool including a second elongated shaft and a second end effector, the second end effector coupled to a distal end of the second elongated shaft;
• an image capture device;
• first, second, and third robotic arm assemblies, the first robotic arm assembly detachably coupled to a proximal end of the first elongated shaft of the first tool, the second robotic arm assembly detachably coupled to a proximal end of the second elongated shaft of the second tool, and the third robotic arm assembly supporting the image capture device;
• a viewer displaying images captured by the image capture device;
• and
• a modeling component programmed to generate a synthetic image of the first robotic arm assembly, the first tool, the second robotic arm assembly, the second tool, the third robotic arm assembly, the image capture device, and a view volume projecting out of an image capturing end of the image capture device so as to provide a visual indication of a field of view of the image capture device, using kinematic data for the first, second, and third robotic arm assemblies, and to provide the synthetic image to the viewer for displaying on the viewer so that proximity with respect to each other of the first, second, and third robotic arm assemblies is viewable on the viewer.