Washington: A new sensor that can sniff out when a driver is drunk from their sweat and prevent them from driving has been developed. In order to decrease road accidents caused under the influence of alcohol, a group of young students at the Institute of Technology of Cintalapa in Mexico developed an automotive safety system that detects the alcohol blood level of a person.
The system works through a series of sensors placed on the steering wheel, the shift lever and seat, which detect through sweat if the person is intoxicated. If the result is positive the motor is disabled, which prevents the individual to drive.
It also has a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking unit that allows monitoring in real time. The young entrepreneurs also designed a mobile application that sends a signal to family or friends with the location of the vehicle, “as the car is disabled, some one can go and pick up the driver,” said Karla Isabel Sanchez Garcia, CEO of the project called AlcoStop.
The system is easy to use, economical and anyone can install it, “the idea is that the person buys it and installs it by themselves, is pretty much like a car alarm focused on detecting alcohol,” she said. It is also practical in comparison to other products, in which a breathalyzer test is needed every time the driver gets in the car.
AlcoStop detects the person behind the wheel, if the system does not indicate levels of alcohol, the car will start, but if the driver is under the influence of alcohol the vehicle will remain still. “We try to refine sensors, so that they are equally efficient for people who do not perspire much, and thus provide a strong result,” Karla Sanchez added.
