A cheerful robot named "Xiaoli", which can monitor blood pressure, detect falls and remind the elderly to take medicine, attracted significant attention at the eighth World Voice Expo in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.
Developed by Beijing-based Seelink Technology Co., Ltd., Xiaoli provides a glimpse into the future of smart care for the elderly in China.
The robot, currently undergoing trials in dozens of nursing homes across China, is expected to be used in more households after further upgrades.
"Thanks to China's increasingly robust developer ecosystem and open and shared technology platforms, developers like us can focus on creating intelligent applications and products for various industries with greater efficiency and lower costs," said Hong Ze, technical director at Seelink Technology Co., Ltd.
According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, China's artificial intelligence (AI) industry is expected to reach a scale of over 900 billion yuan (1 yuan = Rp2,343) by 2024, a 24 percent year-on-year increase.
This growth is supported by a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse developer community.
As of October 24 of this year, the iFlytek Open Platform, one of China's leading AI development platforms, reported hosting over 9.5 million developer teams, a 23.4 percent increase year-on-year. Collectively, these developers have created over 3.6 million AI applications.
"It took us 11 years to reach the first 2 million developer teams," said Liu Qingfeng, chairman of iFlytek.
"Today, the platform is gaining about 2 million new developer teams annually, as millions of developers drive innovation and integrate AI into every aspect of life."
Specifically, the number of large model development teams surged nearly 140 percent year-on-year to 1.86 million, with 550,000 based overseas, iFlytek data shows.
The profile of AI developers in China is also evolving. Previously, the profile of AI developers was an elite and specialized group, but now includes a more diverse mix that includes students, enthusiasts, and professionals from non-technical backgrounds.
