Service robot for elderly promising

An intelligent robot that helps the elderly detect intruders, gas leaks and other dangers is expected to be on the market by year's end at an affordable price, according to its developer.

"It is small but complete in functions," said Zhou Fengyu, director of Shandong University's Cloud Intelligent Robotics Laboratory.

The 62-millimeter-high service robot, dubbed Da Zhi or "smart", is the product of three years of hard work from Zhou and a team of 20 at the university.