CHENGDU — Authorities in Chengdu metropolis, a sci-tech hub in Southwest China, have unveiled their inaugural demand lists for hospital and senior care robotics at a particular job truthful for robots.
The pioneering occasion, hosted by the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Economic system and Info Know-how, civil affairs bureau, and well being fee on Wednesday, highlighted Chengdu”s ambition to change into a nationwide hub for robotics innovation whereas addressing labor shortages by means of automation.
The aged care demand lists options 22 classes of robots spanning each day life help, rehabilitation nursing, security patrols, and emotional companionship, and entails 5 tasks throughout 4 establishments, based on the municipal bureau of economic system and knowledge know-how.
For hospitals, wants ranged from medical help and drug supply to AI-powered diagnostics and precision rehabilitation, spanning 10 tasks at 9 medical facilities.
Zhang Lengthy, deputy director of the Info Division at Chengdu Seventh Individuals’s Hospital, arrived with a particular request: sanitation robots.
“Conventional handbook disinfection is inefficient. We’d like sensible gadgets to interchange repetitive, single-task jobs,” he mentioned, reflecting a broader shift towards automation in public well being.
As a “situation builder,” Zhang emphasised Chengdu’s rising reliance on superior robotics like surgical and rehabilitation assistants to fulfill rising healthcare calls for.
Zhang described the occasion as a “mutually helpful exploration,” bridging tech builders and end-users.
Zhang’s employer is amongst 9 establishments piloting robots for duties equivalent to affected person steerage and logistics.
“Opening up real-world eventualities as ‘testing grounds’ permits us to find smarter robots steadily,” he defined, noting that adoption begins with fundamental duties like disinfection earlier than scaling to advanced roles.
Chengdu’s authorities goals to speed up this synergy. The municipal bureau of economic system and knowledge know-how outlined plans to leverage town’s healthcare strengths to create a “demand-driven, scenario-validated” ecosystem.
Earlier, it recognized 87 robotics merchandise from 31 firms in its first provide catalog, enabling focused match on the occasion.
Native tech startups additionally seized the chance to pitch cutting-edge options.
On the job truthful, Feng Rui, chairman of a neighborhood know-how firm, entered sporting a helmet-like brain-computer interface system.
“This tools is primarily used for autism screening. In the present day, I’m right here to hunt ‘companions’,” he mentioned plainly.
“Mind-control know-how is an integral a part of the robotics business chain. There are a number of firms right here that we will collaborate with,” Feng famous, expressing his need to search out extra testing grounds for the corporate’s analysis and improvement merchandise.
“At present, our merchandise are being utilized in a number of neighborhood well being facilities, and a manufacturing line in Jinjiang District is ready to be operational inside this yr. We hope to grab alternatives like this to increase our market attain,” he mentioned.
In the meantime, Fan Xinhua, CEO of Buffalo Robotics (Chengdu) Know-how Co Ltd. promoted the corporate’s exoskeletons, which have already been deployed to most of the nation’s high hospitals.
The corporate’s new-generation brain-controlled exoskeleton, set for 2025 launch, makes use of neural indicators to reinforce rehabilitation accuracy.
“We intention to deliver these gadgets into communities and houses, empowering the aged and disabled,” Fan mentioned.
In response to a report by the China Industrial Trade Analysis Institute on the event prospects of the service robotic business in China from 2025 to 2030, the market measurement for service robots in China was roughly 60 billion yuan (about $8.36 billion) in 2023, with a mean annual compound development price of 32.41 p.c over the previous 5 years.
Analysts predict that the market measurement for service robots in China will develop to 85 billion yuan by 2025.
Backed by sturdy insurance policies, Chengdu is fast-tracking its robotics business with methods together with month-to-month themed robotics demand and provide match festivals and “robotic plus” alternative lists. It can additionally launch initiatives to crowdsource breakthroughs in core applied sciences whereas fostering collaboration amongst labs, producers, and end-users.
