At the crowded 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), there is a small "robot shop" that is extremely popular: the audience lines up to chat, interact, and ask for snacks with the robot, and some even sit on the robot, holding its "hand" and letting it take them around the exhibition. Behind this scene is the first official appearance of Qijia Q1, a humanoid elderly care robot independently developed by Ruyi Robot, on the global stage.

This robot, which can sell goods, carry people, and chat, is quietly defining a new future of smart elderly care.

01

One body, two forms:

This robot can both take care of and carry people

Qijia Q1 is a humanoid robot designed specifically for elderly care scenarios, focusing on the daily care needs of semi disabled, long-term bedridden, or solitary elderly people. Unlike typical functional robots, it can not only complete the actual action task of "taking care of people", but also has the ability of voice interaction and emotional companionship.

It can assist the elderly in getting up, turning over, fetching water, delivering medicine, feeding, doing simple household chores, as well as playing music and chatting with them; It can also be transformed into an electric wheelchair to safely move the elderly. From "operating mode" to "wheelchair mode", simply adjust the orientation of the robot's body.

Due to physiological limitations, humans can only work face to face, while robots do not have this restriction. Therefore, we have re understood and defined the "humanoid structure", which is not a replication of human appearance, but a functional reconstruction for care needs.

At the conference venue, this concept was visually presented through two exhibition scenarios: in the "operational form", it directly interacts with the audience's voice in the "robot shop", recognizes items, and delivers snacks; In the 'wheelchair form', the audience can sit on the robot and hold the end of the robotic arm, controlling the direction of movement by dragging the arm, just like parents holding their child's hand. This intuitive interaction method of "handshake" reflects our consistent concept of "human-machine integration": robots are not cold tools, but intimate partners in the living space.

The lively interactive atmosphere at the exhibition also proves this point. The audience generally gave feedback that the robots are "very approachable", and many visitors and elderly care institutions expressed high interest in the robots, inquiring about the launch time and pilot plan. This once again confirms that what people need are "life robots" that can truly enter daily life, interact with each other with confidence, and actually help.

02

Human form reconstruction based on real care needs:

Not for 'human like', just for ease of use and safety

The Rushen Robotics team was established in June 2023 and is a robotics company focused on the field of intelligent healthcare. The core members of the team come from listed companies/unicorn startups in the world-class medical and collaborative robotics fields, such as minimally invasive robots and Agile Robots. Founder Shi Yunlei participated in the establishment of a domestic surgical robot listed company and conducted doctoral research in the field of embodied intelligence at the multimodal laboratory of Professor Zhang Jianwei, a member of the German Academy of Engineering.

We don't pursue flashy skills, but always focus on one question: can robots truly help caregivers? Can you become a companion for the elderly?

Therefore, we chose an omnidirectional moving chassis instead of bipedal walking on the Qijia Q1, in order to ensure that the robot is stable, less prone to falls, and able to move flexibly in a home environment. Its robotic arm supports high-precision force control of ± 1N, making it softer and more reliable in contact tasks such as feeding and turning over. Because taking care of the elderly requires both being 'helpful' and 'error free'.

Due to the current embodied intelligent operating system not fully meeting the needs of real-world scenarios, we have adopted a "dual-mode parallel" architecture, equipped with an ultra remote assistance system in addition to autonomous operation. Most multimodal interaction tasks are completed by AI agents, while tasks beyond the capabilities of the agents are completed by professional nurses through a remote operation platform.

Unlike the simple solution in the market where VR controllers are widely used for unilateral control without feedback, the Qijia Q1 adopts a high difficulty bilateral force feedback remote operation technology, allowing caregivers not only to "see", but also to "feel" the contact force between the robot and objects or the human body. During the operation process, it feels like "having real force touch", greatly improving safety and accuracy perception.

We are not pursuing the replacement of humans with robots, but rather making robots an extension of caregivers. Especially at night, in case of emergencies or labor shortages, it can achieve no napping, no distraction, and respond at any time.

In addition, the Qijia Q1 is equipped with multiple security mechanisms such as fall detection, force control restrictions, emergency stop buttons, remote monitoring, as well as privacy protection mode, ensuring that the robot will not violate privacy or pose risks even when accompanying for a long time in a home setting.

03

Pilot projects will be launched in 2026,

Qijia Q1 will enter into real retirement life

At present, Qijia Q1 has completed multiple iterations and internal validation, and plans to launch a standardized mass production version in 2026. We have signed cooperation agreements with several leading national elderly care service institutions to prepare for pilot tests in real-life scenarios, including home care, institutional assistance services, night care, and other directions.

As a startup company focused on the field of "smart healthcare", we believe that elderly care is not just a gimmick, it requires warmth, patience, and practical abilities. Technology cannot be flashy and useless, let alone create new care risks.

We firmly believe that every function must correspond to a real care pain point; Every design must be responsible for a specific living scenario. In the research and development process, we always strictly follow the safety design standards for medical and collaborative robots, which is the action guideline for every robot engineer.

If you are looking for a robot that can truly integrate into your family, accompany the elderly, and relieve caregiving pressure, perhaps Qijia Q1 is the answer worth waiting for.