Key Points
- China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (Gongye He Xinxihua Bu 工业和信息化部) and Ministry of Civil Affairs (Minzheng Bu 民政部) launched a pilot program (2025-2027) for intelligent elder care service robots.
- The program aims to bridge the gap between research and real-world application, testing robots in homes, communities, and elderly care institutions to meet diversified needs.
- Specific pilot requirements include application verification in no less than 200 households (home robots) or 20 communities/institutions (community/institutional robots), with at least 20 units deployed in each scenario.
- The Chinese market for elder care robots was valued at approximately ¥7.9 billion RMB ($1.097 billion USD) in 2024 and is projected to reach ¥15.9 billion RMB ($2.208 billion USD) by 2029, growing at a 15% CAGR.
- Experts emphasize that significant market expansion depends on enhancing the “intelligence” of these robots, moving beyond basic assistance to offer personalized support, health predictions, and more engaging emotional companionship.
Get ready, folks, because the future of elder care is getting a major tech upgrade in China.
On June 9, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (Gongye He Xinxihua Bu 工业和信息化部) and the General Office of the Ministry of Civil Affairs (Minzheng Bu 民政部) dropped some big news.
They’ve jointly launched the “Notice on Carrying out Pilot Work for Intelligent Elder Care Service Robot Collaborative Research and Scenario Application.”
Let’s just call it the “Notice” for short.
This pilot program is set to run from 2025 to 2027, marking a significant push in this space.
It’s clear China is serious about integrating robot technology with elder care services.
We’ve already seen a flurry of important policies this year aimed at boosting intelligence in elder care.
Zheng Lei (Zheng Lei 郑磊), chief economist at Samoyed Cloud Technology Group Co., Ltd. (Samo’ye Yun Keji Jituan 萨摩耶云科技集团), shared his take with Securities Daily reporters.
He believes this policy is all about one thing: “to accelerate the application scenario implementation of intelligent elder care robot products and enhance product service capabilities.”
Essentially, it’s time to get these robots out of the lab and into real-world elder care settings.
Boosting the Silver Economy: A New Dawn for Elder Care Tech
The “Notice” isn’t just a small step; it’s a strategic move to energize the silver economy.
It outlines a plan to roll out a batch of intelligent elder care service robot collaborative research and application pilot projects in phases.
The core idea?
To foster strong collaboration between the brains behind the tech (researchers) and the folks on the ground (application parties).
This means pushing for rigorous product application verification and iterative upgrades.
We’re talking about real-world testing in places like homes, communities, and elderly care institutions.
The goal is to develop a range of robot products that can genuinely meet the multi-level and diversified elder care service needs of the aging population.
But it doesn’t stop at just building cool robots.
The initiative plans to continuously establish and improve standard norms and evaluation systems.
Market Expansion Hinges on “Intelligence”: The Future is Smart
This is all about accelerating how robots empower smart elder care services and, ultimately, the burgeoning silver economy.
Drilling Down: What’s Inside the Pilot Program?
The pilot content is pretty comprehensive, focusing on three key areas:
Carrying out collaborative research.
This targets three main elder care service models: home, community, and institutional.
It also dives into specific application scenarios like:
- Care for the disabled and cognitively impaired
- Emotional companionship
- Health promotion
- Smart environment creation
- Daily living assistance
The research will zero in on the pain points and shortcomings of current products or solutions, driven by actual user needs in these scenarios.
The aim is to progressively enhance product safety, reliability, ease of use, and service capabilities.
Carrying out scenario application verification.
Pilot applications will be rolled out in practical settings: homes, communities, and elderly care institutions.
Product iterative upgrades are a must during this verification process.
And this isn’t a quick once-over; the application verification period will be no less than 6 months.
The numbers are specific too:
- Home elder care service robot products: Need to complete application verification in no less than 200 households, with deployment of no less than 200 units/sets.
- Community and institutional elder care service robot products: Need to complete application verification in no less than 20 communities or 20 elder care institutions, with deployment of no less than 20 units/sets.
Improving standards and evaluation systems.
Research and development units, along with application pilot units, are encouraged to team up on standardizing intelligent elder care service robots.
The focus here is on scenario requirements and application safety to develop robust product and service standard norms.
Additionally, they’ll be looking at safety, reliability, elder-friendliness, and economic efficiency to develop product evaluation standards.
The industry will be guided to ensure that the design and development of these robots closely align with the physiological and psychological characteristics and service needs of the elderly.
This means a big push for improving product elder-friendliness, intelligence, and overall safety and reliability.
The Implementation Roadmap: Expert Guidance and Timelines
So, who’s overseeing all this?
The “Notice” mandates that the First Department of Equipment Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Elderly Care Service Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs will jointly establish an expert group.
This group will be responsible for a comprehensive evaluation and selection of pilot project applications, ultimately determining the list of admitted collaborative research and scenario application pilot projects.
Once a project is greenlit, pilot units are required to complete their collaborative research and scenario application pilot tasks within two years from the date the admission list is confirmed.
Zheng Lei (Zheng Lei 郑磊) weighed in again on the impact of this hands-on approach.
“Through pilot applications in actual scenarios such as homes, communities, and elderly care institutions, intelligent elder care service robots can directly face the real needs of the elderly,” he said.
This direct feedback loop “will encourage enterprises to increase R&D investment and make product service content more precise.”
He added, “At the same time, through pilot applications, intelligent elder care service robots can demonstrate their actual effects and advantages in elder care services, thereby attracting the attention and recognition of more elderly people and elderly care institutions.”
The ripple effect? It “will help enterprises expand market demand and promote the popularization and application of intelligent elder care service robots.”
Market Expansion Hinges on “Intelligence”: The Future is Smart
Robot technology is no longer confined to factory floors; it’s steadily making its way into our daily lives.
And when it comes to addressing the critical shortages in market and family elder care services, intelligent elder care service robots are emerging as a vital option.
These aren’t just automated helpers; they’re envisioned as sophisticated companions and assistants.
The Market Potential: A Glimpse into a Multi-Billion Dollar Industry
The numbers are already looking promising.
According to the “2024 China Elder Care Robot Industry Panorama Map” by Qianzhan Industry Research Institute (Qianzhan Chanye Yanjiuyuan 前瞻产业研究院), the market size for elder care robots in China hit approximately ¥7.9 billion RMB ($1.097 billion USD) in 2024.
But hold onto your hats, because it’s expected to grow rapidly.
We’re looking at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 15% over the next five years.
This trajectory puts the estimated market size at a whopping ¥15.9 billion RMB ($2.208 billion USD) by 2029.
That’s a significant market ripe for innovation and investment.
The Tech Stack: Deconstructing the Elder Care Robot
The intelligent elder care service robot industry chain is intricate, with complex product functionalities.
- Carrying out collaborative research across home, community, and institutional models.
- Focus on specific application scenarios like care for the disabled/cognitively impaired, emotional companionship, health promotion, smart environment creation, and daily living assistance.
- Enhancing product safety, reliability, ease of use, and service capabilities based on user needs.
- Carrying out scenario application verification in practical settings (homes, communities, institutions).
- Ensuring product iterative upgrades during the verification period (minimum 6 months).
- Developing minimum application verification numbers: 200 households/200 units for home robots; 20 communities/institutions/20 units for community/institutional robots.
- Improving standard norms and evaluation systems focusing on scenario requirements, application safety, safety, reliability, elder-friendliness, and economic efficiency.
- The upstream hardware link is foundational, covering core components like reducers, servo motors, and controllers.
- Software system development is where the “smart” comes in, involving cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated operating systems.
- The midstream is bustling with manufacturers focusing on various types of robots, including rehabilitation robots, nursing robots, and companionship robots.
- The downstream market isn’t just individual consumers; elderly care institutions are also key customers.
For these institutions, introducing intelligent elder care robots offers a dual benefit: they can effectively share some of the heavy lifting for caregivers and also greatly enrich the daily lives of the elderly residents.
Robots in Action: Current Capabilities and Future Needs
We’re already seeing some fascinating examples.
Li Boyang (Li Boyang 李博阳), President of Dalian TS Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Dalian Di’ai’si Keji Fazhan Gufen Youxian Gongsi 大连蒂艾斯科技发展股份有限公司), told Securities Daily reporters about their EX Bionic Humanoid Robot (EX Fangshegn Renxing Jiqiren EX仿生人形机器人).
This robot is designed for home elder care companionship.
It’s kitted out with a multimodal emotional interaction system that can keenly capture and analyze the language, expressions, and emotional changes of the elderly, then respond promptly.
Pretty cool, right?
Plus, the robot features a compact, high-sensitivity mechanical dexterous hand, designed to mimic human physiological structure.
This allows it to perform grasping, gesture expression, and interaction functions much like human hands – easily picking up a light cup or holding an elder’s hand for comfort.
Beyond home companionship, robots are also proving to be effective assistants for medical workers.
Not long ago, Securities Daily reporters saw a lower limb exoskeleton robot assisting elderly people with walking during a visit to Taikang Yanyuan Rehabilitation Hospital (Taikang Yanyuan Kangfu Yiyuan 泰康燕园康复医院).
However, there’s a crucial distinction to be made.
These current devices, while helpful, often can’t be called truly “intelligent.”
Many are primarily auxiliary mobility tools.
They don’t yet provide comprehensive, personalized medical support through real-time data analysis and intelligent decision-making like genuinely intelligent robots are envisioned to do.
The Next Leap: Why “True Intelligence” is the Game Changer
Yuan Shuai (Yuan Shuai 袁帅), Deputy Secretary-General of the Zhongguancun Internet of Things Industry Alliance (Zhongguancun Wulianwang Chanye Lianmeng 中关村物联网产业联盟), offered some sharp analysis.
He noted that for tasks like assisting with eating, turning over, and transporting – essentially reducing the burden on nursing staff – current robot products are already relatively mature.
But the key to unlocking the broader elder care service robot market? It lies in one word: “intelligence.”
What does this “intelligence” look like in practice?
- Intelligent elder care service robots could potentially predict health crises based on data analysis.
- They could offer personalized health guidance recommendations.
- They could provide customized health management plans.
- In terms of emotional companionship, it’s about moving beyond just playing music and telling stories.
- Truly intelligent robots need to generate more interaction, perhaps through interactive games or memory training programs designed to help the elderly slow down cognitive decline.
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The Big Picture: Revolutionizing Elder Care Services in China
Yuan Shuai (Yuan Shuai 袁帅) emphasized the broader impact.
“The promotion of intelligent elder care service robots can optimize the allocation of elderly care resources and improve the efficiency and quality of elderly care services,” he said.
The market isn’t just looking for basic functionality anymore.
“Currently, the market has high requirements for intelligent elder care service robots,” Yuan Shuai explained.
“They are not only expected to have basic service capabilities but also hope to achieve greater breakthroughs in meeting diversified, personalized elderly care needs and providing more comprehensive, intelligent product functions.”
This new pilot program is a clear signal of China’s commitment to fostering innovation in this crucial sector.
As technology continues to advance, the role of the intelligent elder care service robot is set to become increasingly pivotal in shaping a more supportive and technologically empowered future for the elderly.
References
- Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Ministry of Civil Affairs Jointly Issue Document to Carry Out Pilot Work for Intelligent Elder Care Service Robot Collaborative Research and Scenario Application – Securities Daily
- Policies Push Robot Use in Elder Care – China Daily
- China bets on robots to ease elder care burden – Nikkei Asia
