Honda and Hitachi hope to put the brakes on drinking and driving with a mini-breathalyzer that would be integrated into vehicle smart keys.
The two auto companies are presenting the prototype for it this week at the 2016 Word Congress and Exhibit in Detroit.
The portable alcohol detector can apparently detect alcohol within three seconds of someone exhaling on it.
Unlike other systems, this smart-phone-sized device can be used before drivers get into their vehicles. It’s also integrated into a vehicle ignition system, so it can prevent a car from starting if it detects that the driver’s breath is over the limit.
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The companies plans to continue to test the device and then offer it for sale.
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Also relatively new on the market is the “Alcoho-Lock.” It’s aimed at preventing inebriated cyclists from drunk biking.
The Japanese cycling store that developed the liquor-detecting lock also created an incriminating smartphone app, according to Gizmag. It “connects with the lock over Bluetooth and alerts a loved one of the user’s drunken exploits.”
In other breath-testing news, a fat-burning breathalyzer was introduced at CES 2016.
There’s just one catch: drinking alcohol could throw off the reading and make it seem like you’re burning more fat than you are.
With files from Nicole Bogart, Global News
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