Chinese robot scores high in doctor qualification test

Beijing: A robot made in China has cleared a national-level qualification test for doctors in the country and obtained a high score.

The robot, co-developed by leading Chinese tech firm iFlytek and Tsinghua University, has achieved a score of 456, higher than the national pass mark of 360, the health and family planning commission in Anhui Province said.

This year, around 530,000 people across the country took the examination in August. The National Medical Examination Center released the pass mark for the written test yesterday.

Watched by examination supervisors, the robot answered the same test paper at the same time as its human counterparts in a designated test room without internet access or signal. The whole process was recorded to prevent cheating, according to iFlytek.

The test showed the robot has mastered self-learning and problem-solving abilities to a degree. It will be used to assist doctors in clinical diagnosis and will see patients in hospitals, residential communities, and homes in the future, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.