Reports have emerged that the world's first "pregnancy robot" is under development in China. The robot is designed in a humanoid form and is equipped with an artificial womb in its abdomen, allowing it to carry a fetus for 10 months and give birth. A prototype is expected to be released by next year, with a selling price of about 100,000 yuan (approximately 19.3 million won).
The Chinese science and technology media outlet Kuai Ke Zhi reported on the 8th an interview with Zhang Qifeng, a PhD at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, who is developing the pregnancy robot. The pregnancy robot he envisions is not an incubator but a humanoid, with a womb in its abdomen that can replicate the entire process from conception to delivery.
The key to the pregnancy robot is the "artificial womb" technology, where the fetus grows inside the artificial womb filled with artificial amniotic fluid and receives nutrients through a hose. Dr. Zhang noted, "The artificial womb technology is already in a mature stage, and now it needs to be implanted in the robot's abdomen so that a real person and the robot can interact to achieve pregnancy, allowing the fetus to grow inside."
According to him, the artificial womb has already achieved significant results in animal experiments. According to the international journal "Nature Communications," researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia successfully allowed a premature lamb, equating to 23 weeks of pregnancy in humans, to grow in an artificial womb known as the "biobag" in 2017. The biobag, made of transparent vinyl material, was filled with warm water and salt to create artificial amniotic fluid, with nutrients supplied to the lamb through a tube connected to the umbilical cord. As a result, the lamb grew wool four weeks later.
However, this artificial womb functions more like an incubator, allowing early-born individuals to grow in an environment similar to the womb. For Dr. Zhang's vision to be realized, it needs to advance to enable actual pregnancy within the artificial womb. In this interview, Dr. Zhang did not provide specifics on how the eggs and sperm are fertilized and implanted in the artificial womb.
Dr. Zhang expects that the prototype of the pregnancy robot he is researching will be available within a year, with a price set below 100,000 yuan. Regarding ethical and legal issues, he stated, "We have held discussion forums with authorities in Guangdong Province and submitted related proposals while discussing policy and legislation."
As the news broke, the previous day, the local social media platform Weibo saw the keyword "#World's First Pregnancy Robot to Launch Within a Year" rise to the top of the search rankings. The interview video posted on the Douyin platform received nearly 4,000 comments.
Comments included criticisms such as, "It is cruel for a fetus to be born without connection to a mother," and, "It completely violates human ethics," as well as, "Where do the eggs come from?" However, the majority expressed a positive sentiment, saying, "If the price is only half of my annual salary, I would buy it immediately," and, "It's good that women don't have to suffer," and, "Women have finally been liberated."
In particular, there was also an expression of hope for resolving infertility, with remarks like, "I tried artificial insemination three times but failed all of them. Now I have a chance to have a baby," and, "Many families pay significant expenses for artificial insemination only to fail, so the development of the pregnancy robot contributes to society."
The infertility rate in China is gradually on the rise. According to the "China Maternal and Child Health Major Special Report" published by the international medical journal Lancet, the incidence of infertility and sterility in China rose from 11.9% in 2007 to 15.5% in 2010 and increased to 18% in 2020. In response, local governments in China, including Beijing and Shanghai, are including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization treatments in medical insurance coverage to support childbirth for infertile couples.