Spurred on by spread of bad food at restaurants around the globe, government officials in Thailand have embarked on a quest to decide once and for all which restaurants deserve the honor of being called Thai food. The solution? Get a robot to taste it.

The former prime minister got things in motion before her administration was tossed from office in May, reports the New York Times, after she kept encountering unsatisfactory cuisine in her travels.

She took her outrage over these impostor dishes to a cabinet meeting, and it grew from there. This week, the Thai Delicious Committee — a real group sponsored by the government — introduced the e-delicious machine at a glitzy event with diplomats and dignitaries this week.

Its backers say the robotic taster can scientifically evaluate Thai cuisine, and knows the difference between green curry done right and one that will never hold a candle to the real thing. It measures what it’s testing and compares it to the standards for ingredients and flavors.

The committee calls it “an intelligent robot that measures smell and taste in food ingredients through sensor technology in order to measure taste like a food critic.”

In other news, I’m starting my own Delicious Committee and will be very dedicated to my work in the cheese and bacon fields.

You Call This Thai Food? The Robotic Taster Will Be the Judge [New York Times]

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