Capturing the opportunity in developing intelligent elderly care robots in China challenges, opportunities and development strategy

Abstract

With the rapid aging, China will face with serious situation because of increasing aged and decreasing working-age population, especially when elderly are disabled and need to be nursed while the family structure and population structure has changed greatly. The advent of Industries 4.0 brings new opportunity to address this issue. Intelligent manufacturing and the development of intelligent elderly care robots could replace manual labor to take care of numerous disabled elderly and free labors. China should seize this opportunity. Meanwhile in this industrial revolution, both opportunities and challenges exist. Challenge in developing intelligent elderly care robots because of technical problems which are hard to be overcome, industrial criteria unformed, imperfection mechanism of “R & D” will affect the development of intelligent service robots in China. Fortunately, certain industrial base and the transformation and upgrading economic situation will greatly promote the birth of intelligent manufacturing. Moreover, a growing number of aged population herald that a huge market urgently in need of products. It is suggested that facing to three kinds of market, paying attention to three kind of population, developing three kinds of products and selling in renting or purchasing two modes should be given to those who are willing to involve in the development of intelligent elderly care robots.