AI Takes the Pulse: China’s Robot Doctors Bring Ancient Medicine into the Future

At the 2026 Shanghai International Embodied Intelligent Industry Expo (CIEI 2026), a robot extended a mechanical hand to take a visitor’s pulse — not as a gimmick, but as a demonstration of a significant breakthrough in the integration of artificial intelligence with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Developed by Shanghai Daocui Intelligent, the AI TCM Physical Examination Robot provided pulse diagnosis services to international visitors at the expo, held July 2-4 at the National Convention Center in Shanghai, as reported by People’s Daily.

Bridging Ancient Wisdom and Modern AI

TCM pulse diagnosis (切诊, or palpation) is one of the four core diagnostic methods in traditional Chinese medicine, alongside inspection, auscultation/olfaction, and inquiry. For millennia, practitioners have relied on tactile sensitivity to assess a patient’s health by feeling the pulse at the wrist — a skill that traditionally takes years of experience to master. Now, AI is being trained to do the same.

The AI TCM robot uses flexible sensors to capture pulse data, converting it into pulse spectrograms that can be analyzed by multimodal AI systems. As Guangming Tech reported, these devices integrate the four diagnostic methods using sensors and AI analysis, generating comprehensive health reports within minutes.

The CIEI 2026 Expo: A Showcase of Innovation

CIEI 2026, themed “Embodied Origin, Intelligent Creation of the Future” (具身启元 智创未来), brought together nearly 200 leading enterprises across 30,000 square meters of exhibition space. According to the Xinhua News Agency’s announcement of the expo, the event featured keynote speeches by academician Chu Junhao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Qu Daokui, President of the China Mechatronics Technology Application Association, alongside the release of the “2026 China Embodied Intelligence Industry Development Report.”

The expo was first announced at a press conference in Beijing in January 2026, where organizers highlighted that the global embodied intelligence market had reached 19.5 billion yuan by 2025, with China having built a complete industrial ecosystem. The event also featured four thematic forums, national robotics competitions involving 120 teams from 60 universities, and global supply chain matchmaking sessions.

A Growing Ecosystem of AI TCM Technologies

The Shanghai Daocui Intelligent robot is part of a rapidly expanding ecosystem of AI-powered TCM diagnostic tools. Major developments include:

• “Shu Zhi Qi Huang” (数智岐黄) TCM Model: Developed by East China Normal University and Shanghai University of TCM, trained on the Huangdi Neijing, Shanghan Lun, and over 1,000 ancient texts, covering 80,000+ prescriptions and 9,000+ herbs.
• “Xunfei Xiaoyi” (讯飞晓医) APP: Powered by iFlytek’s Spark medical AI model, with a knowledge base covering 400+ TCM conditions, 400+ acupoints, and 6,200+ ancient medical cases.
• Commercial deployments: Tongrentang International Smart Health Experience Center in Beijing uses AI TCM Four-Diagnosis Devices, while the “Qiao Lang Zhong” (俏郎中) device provides a 2-minute assessment covering 64 health indicators and 183 disease risk warnings.

Policy Backing and Strategic Direction

The integration of AI with TCM enjoys strong policy support from Beijing. In July 2024, the National Administration of TCM and the National Data Administration jointly issued “Opinions on Promoting Digital TCM Development,” calling for AI and big data to be integrated into TCM within 3-5 years. The 14th Five-Year Plan for TCM Informatization explicitly promotes AI, big data, and IoT in TCM innovation, while the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) lists embodied intelligence as a key future industry.

Expert Perspectives: Promise and Challenges

Leading experts see tremendous potential in AI-assisted TCM. Liu Liang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, noted that AI promotes TCM modernization, with traditional palpation now captured by flexible sensors and converted into pulse spectrograms for multimodal analysis. Wang Zhengfei of Guangzhou University of TCM observed that AI-assisted TCM can give primary care doctors diagnostic capabilities comparable to experienced TCM practitioners.

However, challenges remain. Professor Fan Xiaohui of Zhejiang University pointed out that while textual data from classics and prescriptions is abundant, clinical and experimental data remain insufficient for robust AI training. Standardization also poses a challenge — TCM diagnosis has traditionally been subjective, and AI standardization requires consensus on diagnostic criteria.

What’s Next for AI TCM

The demonstration at CIEI 2026 signals China’s ambition to export AI-enhanced TCM services globally. As the technology matures, key questions remain about clinical validation, regulatory pathways, and commercialization strategies. With strong policy support and rapid technological advancement, AI-powered TCM diagnostics could soon expand access to quality traditional healthcare in underserved areas — both in China and around the world.

The photograph accompanying this story was taken by Li Baoyang of People’s Visual, showing the Shanghai Daocui Intelligent AI TCM robot providing pulse diagnosis to a foreign visitor at CIEI 2026.