China’s elder care business is hopeful that automation may help address the country’s aging population and declining workforce. Examples of this technology include internet-connected sleep monitors, robotic arms, and dining plates that calculate calories.
This week, hundreds of seniors descended upon a packed industry show in Shanghai, where attendees flocked to booths advertising everything from physiotherapy robots to opulent retirement houses.
After more than 60 years of continuous expansion, China’s population has been declining since 2022, raising concerns about a potential labor shortage and mounting strain on the country’s healthcare system as millions of people age into old age.
Rather than relying on people — traditionally one’s children — to provide care, many of the fair’s exhibitors showcased technological attempts to solve the demographic conundrum.
Yu, a 64-year-old visitor, was among a crowd watching a company demonstrate its automated stair-climbing machines alongside devices designed to lift people from their beds into wheelchairs.
He told AFP he was impressed.
“Nowadays there are fewer and fewer young people, and more and more old people, so these smart products can provide better services for older people,” he said.
Yu claimed that he had already bought smart wheelchairs and beds for his elderly relatives, one of them was ninety years old and needed his care.
At the stand of Shenzhen-based tech company Innopro, a variety of smartwatches, motion detectors, and temperature monitors promised families continuous monitoring of their elderly relatives.
The company’s clientele includes local governments and nursing facilities, but it mostly caters to busy professionals and people living far from their loved ones.
“For institutions, they hope to save on labour costs because they usually need to conduct checks every night,” employee Jin Guohui told AFP.
“This device can reduce their work,” Jin said, showing off a small, SIM card-equipped white box that monitored sleeping patterns and signs of life.
