A woman films as she takes out a cup of herbal beverage tailored for her by a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) intelligent robot at the Instituto Universitario Egas Moniz in Lisbon, Portugal, April 17, 2026. Medical professionals from China and Portugal, alongside faculty and students, gathered to witness a TCM intelligent robot's debut on Friday here in Lisbon.(Xinhua/Xun Wei)

LISBON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Suzana Carvalho, a resident in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, stood before a robot that looked like a sleek vending unit.

About five minutes later, she smiled holding a steaming cup of herbal beverage tailored to improve her health condition after accepting a brief scan and answering a list of questions from the robot.

"It's incredible," Carvalho said. "I've always been curious about traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), but I didn't expect it to be so advanced."

It took place on Friday at the Instituto Universitario Egas Moniz in Lisbon where medical professionals from China and Portugal, alongside faculty and students, gathered to witness the robot's debut in the campus.

The robot was developed jointly by Macau University of Science and Technology and the Guangdong Provincial Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine, south China.

It combines intelligent hardware with a specialized TCM model developed in Hengqin, alongside advanced AI technologies such as DeepSeek, according to the project's leader Han Zitian, a professor at the School of Innovation Engineering of Macau University of Science and Technology.

Han said the robot can store up to 1,300 prescriptions, most drawn from classic TCM formulas and pre-vetted by experienced practitioners.

With health data gathered by built-in cameras, a pulse-sensing device and a question list, the robot can work out a personalized herbal formula and offer tea-like drink, a seamless "consultation-to-consumption" experience.

The robot has become a great hit in the campus in Lisbon and surrounded by the crowd. Its stock of ingredients has been used up within just two to three hours after its debut.

"The popularity is beyond our expectation," said Jose Joao Mendes, president of the Portugese institute. "It gives us greater confidence in expanding the collaboration with Chinese partners in this field."

The cooperation between Chinese and Portuguese institutions has been promoted recently in various fields, from joint laboratories and academic programs to clinical practice and professional training.

Looking ahead, Han said the team hopes to introduce more advanced versions of the robot with expanded diagnostic capabilities to Portugal, with Portugal's regulatory approval, to make TCM more accessible and serve the public abroad more efficiently. ■

Suzana Carvalho, a local resident, holds a cup of herbal beverage tailored for her by a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) intelligent robot at the Instituto Universitario Egas Moniz in Lisbon, Portugal, April 17, 2026. Medical professionals from China and Portugal, alongside faculty and students, gathered to witness a TCM intelligent robot's debut on Friday here in Lisbon.(Xinhua/Xun Wei)

A woman tries out a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) intelligent robot at the Instituto Universitario Egas Moniz in Lisbon, Portugal, April 17, 2026. Medical professionals from China and Portugal, alongside faculty and students, gathered to witness a TCM intelligent robot's debut on Friday here in Lisbon.(Xinhua/Xun Wei)