Recently, the grandparents of Chongqing No. 1 Social Welfare Home were surprised to find that a "new employee" came to the nursing home: "She" is eloquent, she is a "everything", gentle and patient, good at listening, and there are endless people coming to "chat".

　　"She" is called "Pei Pei", which is a smart elderly care robot.

　　Located in Chongqing No. 1 Social Welfare Institute in Banan, Chongqing, staff asked Grandma Wang (middle) about her feelings about the use of the robot. Photo by Zhang Ya
　　Data shows that in 2024, the population aged 65 and above in Chongqing exceeded 6 million, accounting for 18.87% of the permanent population. In recent years, Chongqing has actively explored the construction of an "intelligent elderly care service system" and made up for the service gap through technical means. The launch of elderly care robots is a useful attempt.

　　"If you have any questions, just tell 'Pei Pei' directly, it can answer it." 86-year-old Grandma Wang interacted with the robot in a familiar way. "You can switch the chat identity of the robot. If you don't want to chat, there are puzzle games suitable for the elderly. The photo function can also automatically generate the appearance of us when we were young, which is so fun." "Playing" with the robot for a while has become her daily habit.

　　"Did my grandma have had a good sleep recently?" "Are you in a bad mood?"... The robot "blinked" his electronic eyes, as if he knew how to "observe his words and expressions."

　　"'Pei Pei' is very careful. He can not only answer my questions, but also take the initiative to care about my body." Grandma Wang said that chatting with robots often reminds her of her granddaughter who was studying abroad. Although she cannot visit her often, she has to make a video call every week to express her longing.

　　The elderly people from Chongqing No. 1 Social Welfare Home are chatting with "Pei Pei". Photo by Zhang Ya
　　"'Pei Pei' means companionship." A senior algorithm engineer of Mashang Consumer Finance Co., Ltd., who is responsible for technology research and development, introduced to Guohui that the R&D team combined cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and AI psychology, used multi-modal emotional models to build a service system on the robot, covering five major modules including intelligent emotional companionship, digital literacy improvement, health and safety protection, entertainment and leisure services, and life assistance management.

　　"Although robots have many functions, emotional companionship is the core." Xiang Guohui said that after a lot of research, the team found that for the elderly who are institution for elderly care, emotional companionship needs rank relatively high. Therefore, the "companionship" given to the elderly should not only be a physical existence, but also include deep emotional support and interaction.

　　Grandpa Jie, 83, is a semi-disabled elderly man. He likes to tell stories from his youth over and over again. "Pei Pei" will tirelessly provide feedback; another grandmother finds it difficult to fall asleep after her wife dies, "Pei Pei" can also keenly understand her psychological state and provide psychological counseling...

　　The elderly people at Chongqing No. 1 Social Welfare Home are experiencing the "Ren Woxing" photo-taking function. Photo by Zhang Ya
　　"For the elderly who enter nursing homes, it is easy to feel lonely and fall into self-enclosure and need appropriate intervention." Liu Min, deputy director of Chongqing First Social Welfare Institute, said that although the proportion of nursing staff in the hospital is already very high, it is still impossible to meet the emotional and psychological needs of every elderly person at all times. The advantage of the emotional care robot is that it can provide the elderly with 24 hours of uninterrupted companionship.

　　In addition to the emotional companionship function, the robot is also equipped with an intelligent health monitoring system, which can monitor the physical condition of the elderly in real time, including key indicators such as heart rate and breathing. By monitoring the psychological status and emotional changes of the elderly in a long time, it promptly predicts psychological crises and self-harm risks, and quickly sends early warning information to the hospital.

　　"The value of elderly care robots is not only to assist the elderly in their lives, but also provides a window for the elderly in the campus to get in touch with new technologies and help them integrate into the development of the digital society." Liu Min said, "Many elderly people take the initiative to understand humanoid robots and AI technology, and we are also preparing to offer more technology popularization courses at the Senior Citizen University."

　　"The elderly care robot technology is still in its early stages. With the comprehensive breakthrough of universal embodied intelligent technology, humanoid robots in all scenarios have great potential in the field of elderly care. We look forward to the benefits of scientific and technological development to benefit more elderly groups." Xiang Guohui said. (Reporter Li Xiaoting)

[Editor in charge: Chen Tingyu]