A “quiet” shop selling steamed stuffed buns stands out from its neighbors in central China’s Hubei province not only because of its delicious food, but also because of its owners – a group of disabled young people.

The store is located in Zhijiang city and is popular among residents of the city and neighboring cities.

“This is my fourth time here. My friends here in Zhijiang introduced it to me two years ago and I found the buns delicious. Because they are special, they will pay more attention to this job,” said Ms. Hu, a customer.

All the bun shop owners are young people with hearing, speech or mental disabilities. Thanks to Zhou Yanqing, their teacher and vice president of the local special education school, they can open their own business and live a normal life like normal people.

Ten years ago, when Zhou conducted a survey on the employment of his school’s graduates, he found that out of more than 50 students, fewer than 10 were able to support themselves. He was determined to do something for them.

“A few years ago, I visited a children’s home. The mother gave me a glass of water and then said nothing, but squatted down next to me and burst into tears. She looked at me expectantly, hoping that we would help her child make some changes,” Zhou said.

When vocational training courses were introduced at his school in 2018, Zhou began to focus on making stuffed steamed buns after a round of market research. “This work is tedious as you have to get up early every day, and it’s hard to stick with it for a long time. So I think ordinary young people may not be willing to do it, and there won’t be so many competitors,” Zhou said.

Under his guidance and the tireless practice of his students, the store opened in May of the following year.

“Teachers at school volunteered to help during the holidays, and many parents of our schoolchildren also came to help after hearing the news. There were not so many customers in the first two days after the restaurant opened, but after the third day, more people came. Only later did I realize that it was because some enthusiastic friends in our circle had promoted the restaurant to their circle of friends,” Zhao recalls.

Due to the pandemic, the business closed the following year, and because of the disability, few restaurants were willing to hire Zhou’s students after they graduated.

“We came up with the idea of ​​supporting these disabled students to start a business together, and then started a business ourselves. I would support them to continue their business and help them live a more dignified life,” Zhou said.

The current store, titled “Man Wa Er,” which means “young people doing things slowly,” opened in 2022 to help these young people discover the value of their lives.

“Now he tells others that he comes to work and enjoys communicating with others. As a father, I am very happy to see him adapting to society,” says Xie Yuanbing, the father of one of the store employees.

Over the past two years, farmers and entrepreneurs with disabilities have been integrated into the supply and marketing chain around the bread shop, helping over 20 disabled entrepreneurs and over 300 families of disabled people to increase their income.

“Although they cannot avoid the disability, they can still stick to their work and make slow progress. It is a valuable spirit to persevere in work. If they keep going like this, good things will gradually happen to them. This is my expectation of them, and all the good things will gradually come with our efforts,” Zhou said.

Disabled employees enjoy a dignified life by opening a small shop in Hubei

At the World Robot Conference (WRC) 2024, held in Beijing from August 21 to 25, a number of humanoid robots presented practical and efficient elderly care solutions tailored to the specific needs of China’s elderly population.

The conference featured an impressive selection of 27 different types of humanoid robots – a record number for any previous session – and attracted a great deal of attention from conference attendees.

Among them is a humanoid robot named Wanda, which can be remotely controlled using a VR headset to grasp objects and even perform household chores remotely, including preparing meals, doing laundry and folding clothes.

According to the robot’s exhibitor, these capabilities are extremely relevant to China’s growing elderly population in less densely populated areas where residents may not have easy access to large care facilities.

“In rural areas, the environment is more complex. Perhaps the children of the elderly work in other cities. We have already developed robots that can perform tasks such as washing clothes, making burgers and folding laundry. By integrating these skills, our robot Wanda is getting better and better at helping with housework,” said Min Shihui, an exhibitor at Chinese humanoid maker UniX AI.

Another lifelike humanoid robot from a Shanghai-based company can chat, remind patients to take their medications and help monitor their health remotely.

The company’s exhibitors even demonstrated the robot’s direct connection to the human brain via a brain-computer interface.

The research team hopes that in the future, robots can provide emotional value and spiritual companionship to elderly people living alone.

“We focus primarily on the elderly, providing them with care and health management services for their daily lives, including conducting Alzheimer’s screenings and assisting with simple household tasks and interactions, such as fetching medicine and essential daily items,” said Zhang Yongpan, general manager of Robosys, a Shanghai-based intelligent robot research and development company.

WRC 2024 has brought together hundreds of industry experts and highlighted a number of cutting-edge developments in the rapidly evolving robotics industry. According to the organizers, 169 global companies, including ABB, Tesla, Kuka and SMC, are showcasing their over 600 exhibits during the five-day event.

Humanoid robots offer practical solutions for elderly care at the World Robot Conference 2024