Robot Cooking Machine

Popular Science magazine recently featured an article about a robot who can serve up 60o types of classic Chinese dishes with the touch of a button. Simply “feed” the machine with ingredients required for the dish and program the machine before it whips out a meal. Level of deliciousness may vary with individuals.

Developed by students from Yangzhou University and Shanghai’s Jiaotong University, the details of how the machine works have yet to be released.

Shanghai’s new botanic garden set to open at the end of the month

In an effort to increase greenery in the city, after three years’ construction, the Chenshan botanic park will open just in time for the Expo. At 207 hectares (three times the size of the Shanghai Botanic Garden), it boasts 9,000 species of endangered plants and trees , and eventually 30,000 in order to earn a spot at the world’s top 10 botanic gardens.

Designed by German landscape architect  Christoph Valentien (of the award winning firm Valentien & Valentien), several details of the garden were also inspired by Chinese culture and tradition, for example the design of a hill and a lake, the height of the pavilions, and the setting of the buildings.

A 71.4 m waterfall runs from Chenshan Hill into a deep lake at the Quarry Garden, constructed from an abandoned quarry. The park also has a  special garden that encourages blind people to feel the plants and smell the scents, equipped with an audio system to guide the blind on tours of the foliage.