Despite being thrown out in a military coup in May, the Thai government is still working on an important initiative (no, not piecing the country back together): they will be unveiling a high-tech robot that tells you if the shitty Thai food you're eating is actually authentic cuisine or not.

The government-sponsored robot was the idea of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra. She was reporetedly inspired by New York City's restaurant grading scale, which clearly details the eateries in Gotham that are lacking in necessary hygiene. The robot, which is helmed by the cutely named Thai Delicious Committee, will use complex science to determine whether Thai dishes at a range of restaurants in Thailand are up to a certain standard.

Via the New York Times:

The machine evaluates food by measuring its conductivity at different voltages. Readings from 10 sensors are combined to produce the chemical signature.

"We wanted the cheapest and easiest approach to measure food," said Sirapat Pratontep, a British-trained expert in nanotechnology who led the development of the machine. "You just put in the food and you get a rating."

The chemical signature for each Thai staple was determined by paying citizens "a few dollars" to sample the same dish from a number of restaurants. The highest rated of the bunch was then given the official chemical stamp as that dish's standard.

The entire program cost the government roughly $300,000, the robot itself comprising $100,000 of their budget. But the standardization process is sure to be wildly flawed: as any cook knows, variety is the spice of life. And bad Thai food is mostly served abroad anyway.

[Image via AP]