On January 29th, it was learned that the Ministry of Civil Affairs recently issued the "Guiding Opinions of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Further Promoting Civil Affairs Science and Technology Innovation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), which proposed 14 specific measures from five aspects: overall requirements, strengthening key core technology research and development in civil affairs, and promoting the transformation and application of civil affairs science and technology achievements. Industry experts point out that the "Opinions" bring new opportunities for China's silver economy to develop into a trillion dollar market, among which segmented industries such as elderly care service robots and rehabilitation aids may welcome the golden period of technology landing and product iteration. The Opinion is the first comprehensive policy document on civil affairs science and technology innovation issued for the 15th Five Year Plan. ”Li Yongxin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Personnel Department of the directly affiliated agencies of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, stated at a press conference that the issuance and implementation of the document will help firmly grasp the opportunities of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, innovate the concepts and methods of civil affairs work, continuously improve the civil affairs science and technology innovation system, and lead the development of new quality productive forces in the field of civil affairs. The Opinion proposes that by 2030, the system and mechanism for civil affairs science and technology innovation will continue to be improved, science and technology investment will continue to increase, innovation level and efficiency will significantly improve, a number of key core technologies will be broken through, a number of landmark scientific and technological achievements will be formed, the localization rate of high-end equipment and products will significantly increase, a number of civil affairs science and technology innovation leaders, innovation teams and technology-based enterprises will emerge, and civil affairs science and technology innovation and industrial innovation will continue to integrate, providing strong guarantees for serving economic and social development and improving people's well-being. In the view of Li Jia, Vice President of the Institute of Aging Society at Pangu Think Tank, the core orientation of the "Opinions" directly points to the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, which helps to truly transform cutting-edge technologies into industrial growth momentum. In particular, industries such as elderly care service robots and rehabilitation aids are expected to become new growth poles. Specifically, elderly care service robots have been repeatedly mentioned in the Opinion. The Opinion clearly proposes to vigorously promote the deep integration of elderly care service technology equipment and products with typical service scenarios such as home, community, and institutions, form a comprehensive solution for multi scenario and all-round care of the elderly, and develop high-performance intelligent elderly care service robots; Targeting the cultivation of new driving forces for the silver haired economy, supporting various regions to build aging and elderly care service industry clusters based on actual conditions, and optimizing and strengthening the aging and elderly care service industry with a focus on intelligent elderly care service robots, smart elderly care products, and other related content. According to the "Analysis Report on the Current Situation and Future Development Trends of the Elderly Care Robot Industry from 2024 to 2029" by China Research Institute Puhua Industry Research Institute, the domestic elderly care robot market has exceeded 30 billion yuan in 2024 and is expected to reach 50 billion yuan by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of over 30%. Li Jia pointed out that the popularity of China's elderly care service robot industry continues to rise and is becoming a promising emerging track in the future. From the perspective of enterprise layout, in recent years, products such as exoskeleton robots, wheeled robots, humanoid robots, and companion robots have emerged continuously, and social capital has also actively invested in them. The rehabilitation aid industry is also receiving policy empowerment. The Opinion clearly proposes to vigorously develop the rehabilitation assistive device industry, broaden the application scope of new technologies and products, improve the configuration service network, and drive the upgrading of the rehabilitation assistive device industry chain and service chain. Make good use of policy tools such as loan interest subsidies and risk compensation to support the innovative development of related industries in the civil affairs field. Industry experts point out that the development of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and brain computer interfaces in China is driving the transformation of the rehabilitation aid industry from mechanical products to intelligent systems. Among them, brain computer interfaces have great potential as auxiliary tools for neurological rehabilitation, mental illness diagnosis and treatment, and functional replacement due to their high compatibility with rehabilitation training and medical diagnosis and treatment. It is also listed in the "Opinions" as a key core technology for strengthening civil affairs research and development. The Opinion proposes to widely apply cutting-edge technologies such as humanoid robots, brain computer interfaces, and artificial intelligence to carry out key technology and equipment research and development in areas such as disability and dementia prevention and anti-aging, life care and rehabilitation nursing, spiritual comfort and social participation promotion, safety risk monitoring and emergency rescue, construction of livable environments for the elderly, and aging adaptation. It aims to promote the integrated, safe, and large-scale application of products such as meal and walking assistance, secondary toilet care, eating and dressing assistance, cleaning and bathing assistance, transportation and transportation, rehabilitation training, psychological intervention, emotional companionship, monitoring and early warning, emergency response, etc. It is worth noting that there are still technical bottlenecks in the technological innovation of elderly care and elderly care services in China, such as the lack of deep integration between elderly care service technology equipment products and service scenarios, and the insufficient integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. In response to these issues, the 'Opinions' have made important arrangements in clarifying the direction of technological innovation, strengthening the scenario driven innovation paradigm, and targeting the cultivation of new driving forces for the silver haired economy. Currently, the field of civil affairs technology innovation is in an accelerated period of deep technological implementation. With multiple favorable factors such as policy support, technology drive, and market expansion, core industries such as elderly care service robots, rehabilitation aids, and civil affairs digital services are entering a period of high-quality development. ”Li Jia believes that with the deep integration of cutting-edge technology and industry, not only will more innovative products be born, but also the improvement of the industry standard system will be promoted, attracting more social capital to enter the market, and ushering in a period of concentrated listing and commercialization of innovative achievements. (New Society)