The government of Thailand has introduced two robots designed to make sure people are enjoying authentic food when they go out to Thai restaurants.
The Thai National Innovation Agency (NIA) developed the robots after finding out that flavors in Thai food didn't measure up to consumers' standards, according to PC Magazine. The goal of the project is to produce authentic Thai food in restaurants around the world.
The first machine, named "e-Delicious," comes with an electronic nose composed of 16 sensors, as well as an electronic tongue for measuring different flavors - sweet, salty, sour, bitter and emami.
The second machine, dubbed "ESenS," uses micro-sensors to measure the quality of dishes compared to a database of recipes, and is almost as big as a printer. Eleven different recipes approved by the government are included in the database, such as Tom Yum Kung, Mussaman Curry, Pad Thai and Golek Chicken Sauce.
Dr. Krit Chongsid, the robots' creator, spent almost a year creating the machines with his research team, ABC News reported. He said the hardest part of the project was syncing the smells of food to their tastes.
"There is a 5 to 10 percent error probability," Chongsid said.
Chongsid added that the team plans on making at least 100 more taste-testing robots, according to ABC News.
The NIA joins other organizations working on robots that can taste food, which include Spanish researchers that have created an "electronic tongue" for tasting different types of beer, and scientists in Denmark that have developed a nano-sensor called "mini-mouth" that measures a wine's astringency to judge its quality.
Thailand is providing an iOS app called "Thai Delicious" for those who can't get their hands on e-Delicious or ESenS, PC Magazine reported. Food enthusiasts can download the app now from the App Store to get access to a range of authentic recipes.
