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　　The Report on the Work of the Government 2026 proposes an initiative to foster the innovative development of emerging industries. It calls for accelerating their development, expanding their scale, and raising their share in the economy for emerging sectors, including new energy, new materials, high-end equipment, biomedicine, and the low-altitude economy.

　　Amid accelerated population aging and the ongoing advancement of the Healthy China strategy, medical robotics has emerged as a key arena for the integration of AI and high-end equipment manufacturing. It also serves as an important pillar in fostering new quality productive forces and addressing gaps in public services.

　　The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China called for the full implementation of the “AI+” initiative, seizing the commanding heights in AI industrial applications and empowering all sectors across the board.

　　As a key node for the Shanghai Robot Industrial Technology Research Institute (Shanghai Institute) in Southeast China, the Shanghai Institute (Fuzhou) Technology Innovation Center has focused on high-demand applications such as rehabilitation, elderly care, and interventions for cognitive impairments since its establishment in Fuzhou New Area. By breaking down barriers through medicine-engineering integration and driving the commercialization of results via real-world scenarios, the center has advanced specialized medical robots from the lab to frontline clinical settings and healthcare institutions, fueling the high-quality development of the AI industry in Fujian.

　　Recently, our reporter visited the center.

　　Dual Engine of Policy and Real-World Scenarios

　　Leveraging the industrial advantages of Fuzhou New Area and Binhai New Town, local authorities provide comprehensive support to innovation entities in areas such as research infrastructure, talent recruitment and development, clinical access, and commercialization of research outcomes, laying a solid foundation for the development of the medical robotics industry.

　　“The establishment of the Fuzhou Technology Innovation Center aims to empower enterprises across the medical robotics industrial chain, build Fuzhou into a hub for intelligent medical robotics, and foster new quality productive forces in light of local conditions,” said a relevant official from the Fuzhou New Area Administrative Committee.

　　Zhang Xiaoyu, Deputy General Manager of the Shanghai Institute (Fuzhou) Technology Innovation Center, noted that the center was established in Fuzhou due to its sound policy framework, vibrant medicine-engineering integration environment, and efficient government services. Focusing on specialized medical robots as its core area, the center has built a professional innovation platform that integrates technology R&D, scenario-based training, clinical adaptation, and the commercialization of research outcomes. By embedding hospital needs, clinical standards, and patient experience throughout the development process, it creates a closed-loop advantage that combines “policy, technology, practical scenarios, and the industry.”

　　Tackling Bottlenecks in Medicine-Engineering Integration

　　Currently, the medical robotics industry is booming rapidly, yet barriers to medicine-engineering integration remain a significant impediment to its development. On one hand, engineers possess expertise in algorithms, control systems, and hardware development, but often lack sufficient understanding of clinical pathways, hospital infection prevention and control, and medical ethics. On the other hand, healthcare professionals are well-versed in diagnostic and treatment needs but may not fully grasp the technical limits and engineering implementation logic of robotics, which can result in misaligned requirements and challenges in product implementation.

　　To address this challenge, the center has established a regular clinical engagement mechanism based on the model of government-facilitated hospital-enterprise collaboration. Engineers participate directly in ward-level demand assessments, while healthcare professionals are involved in the R&D process to assist in product definitions, ensuring that clinical standards are incorporated from the design stage. “By refining designs through real-world scenarios and iterative closed-loop validation, we have effectively bridged the gap between technology and clinical practice,” said Zhang Xiaoyu. This replicable and scalable model of medical engineering collaboration makes robotic products more aligned with clinical practice and patient needs, significantly shortening the cycle from prototype to trial.

　　The Fuzhou Innovation Center is committed to building a solid technological foundation and pursuing development with robust standards. By leveraging the capabilities of two national-level platforms of the Shanghai Robot Industrial Technology Research Institute, i.e., the National Robot Testing and Evaluation Center and the National Robot Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, the center has established end-to-end capabilities covering research and development, testing, certification, and commercialization.

　　Since 2025, the center has carried out compliant data collection and model iteration for rehabilitation, cognitive training, chronic disease management, and other scenarios. The precision and scenario adaptability of its core functional modules have reached advanced industry levels, and multiple devices have entered clinical validation and pilot applications.

　　For example, targeting populations with Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions, the center has developed multi-modal, personalized intervention programs that have shown promising results in pilot applications at healthcare and eldercare institutions.

　　Data Exchange and Accelerated Industrial Collaboration

　　Data is the driving force behind the evolution of intelligent robots. While the industry is experiencing a surge in data collection demand, challenges persist, including inconsistent interfaces, incompatible standards, and data silos. Zhang Xiaoyu noted that the robotics industry will increasingly move toward standards-led and results-bound development, just as the automotive industry has gradually established a mandatory certification and quality standard system. By leveraging the headquarters’ “Data Cloud” platform, the Fuzhou Innovation Center enables cloud-based data exchange with the Shanghai headquarters, adheres to openness and empowerment without technical barriers, and promotes the secure and compliant sharing of data resources.

　　According to Zhang Xiaoyu, Fuzhou’s multiple strengths make it possible to chart a distinctive course characterized by “scenario-driven development, medicine-engineering integration, and cluster-based growth,” establishing it as a hub for medical robotics innovation in Southeast China. From an industry development perspective, robots need not be confined to humanoid designs; multi-legged, wheeled, and modular configurations offer superior stability, load capacity, and adaptability to diverse scenarios. As the industrialization of medical robotics accelerates, a standards system focused on safety, intelligence, and reliability will be rapidly refined, driving the high-quality development of the industry.

　　Zhang Xiaoyu added that for industrial popularization, the center is upgrading its products to be more compact, user-friendly, cost-effective, and reliable. Over the next one to two years, several affordable medical robots are expected to reach the consumer market, bringing the benefits of technology to more households.