1. A surgical cutting and fastening instrument comprising: a. an end effector comprising an anvil with staple forming feature thereon, a housing frame generally opposed to the anvil to hold a cartridge, said end effector comprising a knife and a channel in said frame to receive said knife, a replaceable cartridge holding staples that can be urged out the cartridge with a distal actuation of a deploying wedge, and at least one sensor; b. an elongated rigid shaft, said shaft having a motor located substantially therein that is operably coupled to an actuation mechanism, said shaft having at least one articulation joint for positioning the cartridge at an angle not parallel to a longitudinal axis of said shaft; c. an electrically coupled remote controlled actuation consol; d. linear drive motion converter to convert rotary motion from said motor to linear motion.