Watch out, tea masters - there's a new harvester in town! With a surprisingly human-like pinch, lift, and flick, this nimble robot arm gently plucks tea shoots and drops them perfectly into its collection box. No rough cuts, no metal contamination - just clean, careful picking that keeps your tea leaves top-quality.                                       

This spring, a Hangzhou tea plantation put these smart machines to work, and they're already impressing everyone. Developed by Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, this 7th-gen bot is leaner, meaner, and way more affordable than earlier versions. How? The team slashed costs from 70,000 RMB to under 10,000 RMB and trimmed the robot's weight from a bulky 85kg to a svelte 22kg - that's lighter than most luggage!                                         

The upgrades don't stop there:  

16-legged chassis glides between bushes without damaging soil                                        

Binocular cameras help it spot and pick like a pro  

1,000+ shoots/hour - matching two skilled workers at once!  

What's next? The team's tweaking the design for mass production, meaning these robo-pickers could soon be a common sight in tea fields. Who knew the future of tea harvesting would be this light on its feet?