A cafeteria of a university in Central China implanted chips in the plates that can read the cost of each item on your tray at checkout. Photo: Screenshot of video posted by Taobao Chi Huo

A cafeteria at a university in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province has helped reduce lineups of students waiting to pay by installing chips in the bottom of different sized plates that automatically tell the cost of the dish.

In another example of automation of everything, students slide their trays up to the cashier, then swipe the mobile payment app on their phones and they are good to chow down.

The Star Cafeteria at Hubei University prices each dish according to the size and shape of the plate it is ladled on to, a video posted by Taobao Chi Huo on Sina Weibo revealed on Tuesday. 

The scanner at the cashier calculates the prices of all the dishes on a student's tray in under a second. Of course there's not paper money transactions here; just swipe a school card or wave your phone.

Some internet users thought it is a good idea to adopt the technology in a school as it might inspire students who are interested in automation.

Taobao Chi Huo