The competition, themed "Smart Technology Empowering Elderly Services", targets the workforce shortage in eldercare. A key focus is developing robots capable of performing physically demanding care tasks, such as safely moving or repositioning immobile seniors.

"We're developing a lightweight humanoid robot specifically to address the difficulties in transferring and repositioning bedridden seniors," said Ji Junjie, an expert in embodied intelligence algorithms at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center. "By enhancing joint flexibility, we aim to improve safety in eldercare settings, ultimately assisting human caregivers."