Device detects if you are drunk

The breathometer, with an accompanying app on your smartphone, can measure alcohol and other chemicals in your breath

July 22, 2014 06:46 pm | Updated 06:46 pm IST

The device seems ideal for casualdrinkers who are concerned about getting pulled over while intoxicated,but the best use is likely to be for friends to help each other be responsible

The device seems ideal for casualdrinkers who are concerned about getting pulled over while intoxicated,but the best use is likely to be for friends to help each other be responsible

A company based out of California, USA, wants to take the guesswork out of the oft asked question – Did I drink too much to drive? They have come up with Breathometer, a small device that plugs into your smartphone’s audio jack and measures the relative quantity of alcohol in your breath as precisely as the breathalyzers. With the help of the accompanying app, your smartphone can then display your blood alcohol concentration level or BAC, the measure used to assess whether you are driving under influence.

You could thus determine when your decision-making is impaired, avoid a night in jail, and save lives by just blowing on it once.

The Breathometer has its own advantages over other commercially available breathalyzers. It depends on the smartphone to be its brains, like many other smartphone accessories. This makes it a lot more compact than the ones currently in the market. You can attach it to a key chain so that it can fit snugly in your pocket or purse.

When you pull out your keys, the Breathometer can remind you or your friends to check your BAC before you go and sit behind the wheel. It is available in various colours – Jet Black, Arctic White, Electric Blue, and Light Pink.

The makers had launched a campaign on Indiegogo to raise the money required to finalize the production and also raise awareness. The campaign was successfully raised over $125,000 with days left for the campaign to end. The device seems quite cool, but the main question remains – will it actually prevent people from driving under the influence of alcohol? The device seems ideal for casual drinkers who are concerned about getting pulled over while intoxicated, but the best use is likely to be for friends to help each other be responsible. Well, every person, who is drunk, keeps claiming that he is not drunk. So, it is a wise idea to have them blow into a smartphone so that at least the people around them can know the real state of their condition.

This device has another promising aspect – it can analyze your breath for other chemical components, besides alcohol. Essentially, a breathalyzer is an electronic nose that came into existence because ethanol is a volatile organic compound (VOC), and other VOCs can be found in a person’s breath. Some of these compounds have been associated with diseases. Researchers have been developing devices to sense VOCs associated with life threatening diseases.

The Breathometer is also likely to be essential in empowering the justice system of any country. The policemen will find it extremely convenient and effective when compared to the bulky breathalyzers that they use now. If an individual carries his own Breathometer, he won’t have to blow into one that has been used by many before him.

The Breathometer is certainly worth carrying, and it is a lot cheaper than driving under the influence (DUI). Know more details at >https://www.breathometer.com

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