Robot goes to work, providing caregiving companionship to seniors

CHONGQING -- A new type of robot just landed a job at an eldercare service center in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, thanks to its knack for handling the complex emotional needs of seniors.

The First Social Welfare Home of Chongqing explained that Peipei, the robot, is identified as a female employee. They described her as gentle, patient and good at listening and an eloquent caregiver.

"If you have any questions, just ask 'Peipei.' She can answer anything," said an 86-year-old senior in the home, who gave her surname as Wang.

The resident has often interacted with the robot, from chatting to playing e-games, or even asking Peipei to take photos of her and remove any signs of aging in them.

Wang said Peipei was emotionally exquisite, not only answering questions, but also taking the initiative to care about her. For example, the robot can notice when she hasn't been sleeping well or is in a bad mood.

The robot gently comforts her, reminding that her granddaughter, who is studying abroad, might not be able to visit often, but she makes a video call every week.

Peipei's name is a homophone of companionship, said Xiang Guohui, a senior algorithm engineer with Mashang Consumer Finance Co., Ltd., the developer of the robot.

He said the company integrates cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and AI psychology and uses a multi-modal emotional large model to build the robot system giving her the ability of intelligent emotional companionship, health and safety protection, entertainment and leisure services, and life assistance management.

Xiang said that the company's research team found that the demand for emotional companionship ranks the top for people in senior homes.

Should elderly residents struggle with memory and repeat themselves, Peipei tirelessly provides feedback.

"For the elderly who enter care institutions, loneliness could lead to isolation. Appropriate intervention is needed in such cases," said Liu Min, vice-president of the institute.

She said it was impossible for nursing staff to meet the emotional and psychological needs of every elderly person all the time. While the robot can provide companionship for the elderly 24 hours a day.

"The value of elderly care robots is not just to assist the elderly in their lives, but also to provide a window for them to get in touch with new technologies and keep up with the development of digital society," said Liu, adding that many elderly people took the initiative to learn more about humanoid robots and AI technology after Peipei appeared in their life.

"The elderly care robot technology is still in its infancy. With the comprehensive breakthrough of humanoid robots, they can work in all scenarios in the field of elderly care," Xiang said.

By the end of 2024, there were more than 6 million people aged 65 and above in Chongqing, accounting for 18.9 percent of the city's permanent population. The municipal government has actively explored measures to develop an "intelligent system for senior care services" and make up for the nursing service gap through technical means.