Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are conducting a study that uses smartphones high-end devices such as iPhones to detect when a driver is too drunk.
Using high-end sensors, the smartphone could measure the person’s heart rate and check if the driver has drunk too much. Although the researchers performed a few dozen tests, smartphones were able to detect that the legal limit was exceeded 90% of the time. The study is still in the preliminary stages. The 22 participants were all volunteers aged 21 to 43, including 15 men. None of the 7 women were pregnant or breastfeeding.
“We have really powerful sensors that we take with us wherever we go”, said Brian Suffoletto, principal investigator. “We must learn to use them to better protect public health”.
During testing, participants were required to drink a glass of vodka and lime juice every hour until they reached at least 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, which is the limit in the United States. United Kingdom and United Kingdom. Each user had a smartphone strapped to their back and every two hours had to walk in a straight line for 10 steps, turn around and come back.
In 17 cases, the smartpones identified an abnormal gait in people who had exceeded the 80 milligram limit. In the document prepared by the researchers, there is no mention of smartphones specific, but refers to the fact that all devices used had a high-end accelerometer.
Research will continue in the coming months to try to understand whether smartphones can be used to check a driver’s status and avoid risks to him and other people.
” In five years “, adds Dr Suffoletto, “I imagine a world where if people go out with friends and drink at risky levels then they get a warning at the first sign of an abnormality and a series of notifications to help them stop and avoid driving”.
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