Recently, a robot dog named Xiao Xi has joined a nursing home in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, as a "caregiver."

"Grandma Zhao, it's 12 p.m., time for your medicine," Xiao Xi reminds an elderly resident. After making the announcement, Xiao Xi lies down patiently, waiting for Zhao to take her medication.

Xiao Xi has been "on duty" at the Jinqiu Jiayuan Nursing Home for a month and has already become very popular. Residents often see it carrying a medicine box, navigating the corridors and courtyards to remind them to take their medicine on time.

"My memory isn't good, and I often forget to take my medicine. With Xiao Xi's reminders, I'm now able to take it on time," Grandma Zhao told local media outlet City Link. She also noted that Xiao Xi is like a real pet dog. When she commands it to "take a walk," it immediately stands up and follows her. "Having Xiao Xi with me makes me feel safe, and I attract a lot of attention on the street," she said.

Unlike the heavy-duty robot dogs typically used in industrial settings, Xiao Xi weighs only 14 kg. Despite its small size, it's quite capable. It can deliver meals and medicines, accompany seniors on walks, and use its navigation function to guide them to restrooms.

Xiao Xi is a product of Westlake Robotics, a robotics company founded in Hangzhou in June 2021 by Wang Donglin, Director of the Machine Intelligence Lab in the School of Engineering at Westlake University. The university is a new research-oriented university founded in 2018 in Hangzhou.

Wang Sicong, an algorithm engineer at Westlake Robotics, explained to City Link that Xiao Xi's intelligence stems from the depth camera and industrial camera on its head. The depth camera measures the distance between itself and objects, and analyzes potential obstacles in its path. The industrial camera, with its higher resolution, primarily focuses on recognizing human bodies.

"If an elderly person suddenly falls, the robot will issue an alarm and notify caregivers," Wang Sicong said. Future algorithm upgrades will enable Xiao Xi to perform even more tasks. For example, it could be equipped with a large language model to engage in conversations with the elderly. Facial recognition capabilities could also transform it into a sentinel, tracking the real-time location of residents and mitigating the risk of them getting lost.

Prospects 

Intelligent robots have garnered significant attention at this year's Two Sessions—annual meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body—from March 4 to 11. The Government Work Report, delivered at the opening meeting of the Third Session of the 14th NPC, highlighted the cultivation of future industries such as biomanufacturing, quantum technology, embodied AI and 6G. Embodied AI refers to the integration of AI into physical entities like robots, enabling them to perceive, learn and react to their environments.

Recent population data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in 2024, China's population aged 60 and above reached 310 million, accounting for 22 percent of the national population. It is projected to exceed 400 million by 2035, according to the National Health Commission's Department of Aging and Health. Currently, the elderly care industry faces a shortage of 5.5 million caregivers nationwide. Robots can help address this gap, alleviating the social and familial burden of caring for the elderly and supporting them in maintaining independent and high-quality lives. In fact, robot-assisted eldercare is rapidly transitioning from a concept to a tangible reality.

According to a report on China's elderly care robot industry in 2024, released by the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, the market size of elderly care robots in China in that year was approximately 7.9 billion yuan ($1 billion) and is projected to reach 15.9 billion yuan ($2 billion) by 2029.

Liu Qingfeng, Chairman of AI company iFlytek, told financial news outlet Economic View, "It is estimated that in about three years, eldercare robots will enter homes, performing tasks such as serving tea and water, companionship and health monitoring. However, it may take about five years for such robots to provide nursing services to disabled and semi-disabled elderly people in the same way that professional caregivers do."

Liu said with the development of embodied AI and the rapid advancement of dexterous hands (robotic hands designed to carry out human-like functions with the flexibility, precision and adaptability to manipulate objects in complex ways) and servo motors (a self-contained electrical device that moves parts of a machine with high efficiency and great precision), the era of AI companion robots entering households is approaching. He believes that elderly care robots have the potential to become a 1-trillion-yuan ($138 billion) emerging industry. 

Challenges ahead 

Despite these promising prospects, China's smart elderly care industry is still in its early stages of development, and the widespread adoption of eldercare robots faces several hurdles, such as high prices and technological limitations.

Wu Zhe, Chairman of Foshan Xuyao Intelligent Robot Co. Ltd. in Foshan, Guangdong Province, told financial news platform Time Finance that high cost is a major factor limiting the market penetration of elderly care robots.

Zhang Yunquan, a researcher at the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Economic View that elderly care requires highly personalized services, and has high requirements for product safety and convenience. This translates into high research and development costs, making the price unaffordable for many families.

"At the same time, elderly care robots require complex technologies. Achieving a closed loop of perception-decision making-execution independently requires technological breakthroughs in areas such as computing power and AI algorithms—the core components that enable machines to simulate human-like intelligence and perform complex tasks autonomously," Zhang added.

However, experts believe one thing is certain: The future elderly care market will be redefined by AI-powered elderly care robots. Robot-assisted eldercare is something we can all look forward to.

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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