Exclusive commentary | What will robot caregivers bring?
2024-08-20
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By Tu Yu
Recently, the Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau and the Municipal Economic and Information Commission held a "Long-term Care Insurance and Elderly Care Technology Innovation Enterprises Face-to-Face" event. Representatives of elderly care technology innovation enterprises introduced the supply and innovative development direction of scientific and technological intelligent products such as "humanoid robots", and representatives of long-term care insurance brand companies introduced long-term care insurance care services and the needs of the elderly. This exchange made me look forward to the development of "humanoid robots" in the field of elderly care, and robot caregivers are worth looking forward to.
Currently, the humanoid robot industry is ushering in a new round of development and change. The driving force in technology is mainly due to the development of large-scale model technology, the accelerated domestic substitution of core components, and the reduction of hardware R&D barriers and cost thresholds for humanoid robots.
Some industry insiders believe that the wave of "humanoid robots + AI" has huge market potential. Humanoid robots are currently in the "learning to walk" stage. If we want them to walk particularly smoothly, or even do some complex movements, especially to provide safe and stable services to accompany the elderly in certain scenarios, there is still a long way to go. However, its growth curve is very steep. It may be an infant today, but suddenly become an adult in three to five years, and its ability in ten years may far exceed that of humans. Enterprises must persist in this track and allow technology to continuously break through and iterate in scenarios.
In addition to the most critical technical factors, policy encouragement and market demand have also become important factors in promoting the rapid development of robot care workers. Not long ago, Shanghai issued the "Shanghai Action Plan for Promoting Innovation and Development of Elderly Care Technology (2024-2027)", which mentioned keywords such as "rehabilitation robots", "exoskeleton robots" and "nursing robots". These robots can provide assistance to the elderly in daily life, and can also play a huge role in rehabilitation training, emotional companionship and other aspects.
At this year's artificial intelligence conference, the elderly care robot "Guanghua No. 1" shined, showing its ability to help the elderly walk and read people's expressions and respond emotionally. Gan Zhongxue, director of the Intelligent Robotics Research Institute of Fudan University, found in market research that people's biggest demand for humanoid robots is for elderly care and health care. The team hopes to make this elderly care robot a "health doctor" for the elderly.
As the aging population continues to grow, technology develops rapidly, and policy dividends continue to be released, robot caregivers are expected to receive more and more attention, but they still face challenges in reaching ordinary citizens. Industry insiders said that in the home-based elderly care scenario, the biggest problem currently encountered in the application of technology is cost. If robots can completely replace manual labor, a higher cost is acceptable, but if they are just for manual assistance, cost is a big problem.
Of course, the development of new things takes time. I believe that with the increase in production capacity and sales, the cost of robot caregivers will naturally decrease. Expanding the market is a top priority, and technology and policies are indispensable. Policies will help the innovation and development of elderly care technology, and optimizing long-term care insurance policies can also play a positive role, thereby better serving the needs of the elderly and improving the welfare of the elderly.
Technology is changing our lives, and this is an irreversible trend. Robot caregivers are expected to alleviate the current shortage of qualified caregivers, improve care efficiency, and make the elderly more independent and happier in their later years. But we must realize that what robots cannot replace the most is the companionship and comfort of relatives, which is also the family affection that the elderly most desire in their later years. "Go home often to visit" will never go out of style.
