On March 12, the world's first smart senior care service station equipped with robots officially began operation in Ronghua Sub-district of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area.

An elderly lady is playing Chinese chess with a robot.

The station located in Tianhuayuan Yili, has a usable area of about 1,100 square meters. More than 40 different types of robots have now been deployed here. At the entrance, a robot that can make pancakes operates 24/7. Residents can scan a QR code to order, paying just 6.9 or 7.9 yuan for a customized pancake.

In the kitchen and dining area on the first floor, butler robots not only take meal orders but also identify foods to avoid—such as high-sugar and high-oil items—based on health conditions entered by diners, including hypertension and high blood sugar. A chef robot is busy stir-frying some white gourd, with its fully automated process visible through a glass window. Meal-delivery robots navigate flexibly between tables, distributing meals accurately.

The second floor is a childcare area specially designed for infants and young children. Kids can play with companion robots such as the Alpha Mini 2 robots and others that can draw and play football with them.

The third floor of the station offers integrated services of healthcare, leisure, and daytime care. In the chess room, the elderly can play gobang with chess-playing robots, while a tea-making robot skillfully brews tea nearby. Practical healthcare robots are also popular among the elderly: some robots can perform moxibustion based on specific acupuncture points and control temperature to prevent scalding, while others provide massage with adjustable intensity, targeted acupoint selection, and temperature control. In addition, health monitoring devices enable seniors to quickly check multiple physical indicators.

An elderly person is experiencing a massage offered by a robot.

The station adopts a home-based elderly care service model. Seniors can visit the station for services, and staff can also provide on-site home services with portable equipment. In response to potential risks associated with robots, staff at the station said that insurance coverage has been purchased.

(Source: The Beijing News)