China turns to robots for elderly care with national pilot programme

China has launched a pilot programme aimed at accelerating the deployment of robots to alleviate the pressure of elderly care, as the nation grapples with a rapidly ageing population and a labour shortage.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in collaboration with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, issued a notice on Monday inviting organisations to participate in pilot projects. The initiative aims to enhance the integration of robotics into smart elderly care.

The programme “primarily focuses on improving the quality of life for senior citizens, reducing the caregiving burden on families, addressing labour shortages in communities and institutional care, and enhancing the overall elderly care infrastructure”, according to the notice.

It outlines three areas of elderly care: home, community and institutional settings. Applications include assisting disabled or cognitively impaired people, providing emotional support, improving health, enabling smart homes and helping with daily activities.

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The initiative comes as an increasing number of Chinese robot manufacturers – such as Unitree Robotics, UBTech Robotics, Fourier and AgiBot – invest in developing humanoid machines for home use, despite the expected challenges compared to deploying robots in industrial settings.

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