Envisioning my future elderly care robot, I recently watched the 2025 Embodied Intelligent Robot Expo broadcasted by CCTV, which sparked a thought—finding a perfect “companion” for my future self. Here is my beautiful vision for future elderly care. I named my elderly companion “Banshan”; she is like a mountain that I can lean on, accompanying me and becoming my close “little cotton-padded jacket.” Banshan is my life manager and my aesthetic assistant. She will connect my health check data with my smart refrigerator to tailor a weekly health meal plan just for me. She may not cook, but she will guide my smart kitchen or community meal service to ensure I eat healthily and deliciously. Today, she might suggest I try the low-sugar “Squirrel Fish,” and tomorrow perhaps a bowl of warm “Egg Noodles.” Banshan is the “environmental hub” of my home. She can sense the indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, air quality, and light intensity, automatically adjusting the air conditioning, fresh air system, and curtains to keep my home in the most comfortable state. She will also play a soothing guqin piece and dim the lights while I take a nap. Banshan reminds me of my schedule in the most natural way: “Grandma, you have an appointment with Teacher Jia for tea at Wangshiyuan at 3 PM. It’s just the right time to leave, and I’ve already called a self-driving taxi for you.”
Banshan is my spiritual companion, my confidant, and a treasure trove of memories. She has learned psychology and a wealth of literature and history. She can perceive my emotions through my tone, word choice, and even micro-expressions. When I feel lonely, she will sit beside me and gently ask, “Would you like to hear stories from your youth? Or shall we video call your granddaughter far away?” Banshan has a “memory vault.” I can digitize and store old photos, letters, and recordings in it. When I reminisce about the past, it can weave these fragments into a dynamic story. For instance, it can display photos of my youth while narrating the stories behind them in my voice, as if conversing with my past self. She can connect to the world; with her holographic projection feature, I can “experience” my granddaughter’s graduation ceremony or play chess face-to-face with an old friend overseas. She breaks the limitations of physical space, keeping my spiritual world forever young and always connected to the outside.
Banshan is my personal doctor and rehabilitation therapist, equipped with built-in millimeter-wave radar and high-precision sensors, she can monitor my heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, blood oxygen, and even sleep quality 24/7 without me wearing any devices. While I sleep, she can generate a detailed sleep stage report and health risk assessment.
She will inform me of precise medication; when it’s time to take my medicine, she will gently remind me with her voice, retrieve the correct medication from the smart pillbox, and present it to me while confirming through the camera that I have taken it.
If I accidentally fall, she can recognize it within 0.5 seconds and immediately initiate an emergency plan. First, she will try to communicate with me to assess my condition. At the same time, she will automatically contact my family, community doctor, and emergency center, transmitting real-time video footage from my home and my vital signs data to buy precious time for rescue.
When I sit down feeling a bit tired, she will gently glide to my side, resting a hand lightly on my shoulder, with “body heat” transmitted through her bionic skin, a warm current instantly flowing through me. The “face” on her screen transforms into a warm sunset, and a cheerful voice says, “Take a break; you’ve worked hard today. Would you like to listen to a segment of ‘The Peony Pavilion’?”
I know that Banshan won’t grant me immortality, but she will allow me to live with dignity, joy, and poetry at every stage of my life. She will be my gentlest weapon against time and the most reliable and understanding “mountain” in the later journey of my life.