Drink
driving is one of the main causes of road crashes worldwide, resulting in
thousands of deaths every year.
But in
the future it may be impossible to get behind the wheel while inebriated,
thanks to technology built into cars.
Honda
and Hitachi
The prototype
portable alcohol detector is integrated into a smart key.
It's
capable of detecting saturated water vapour from human breath and accurately
measures alcohol levels within three seconds.
It can
measure ethanol concentration using three types of semiconductor gas sensors to
detect ethanol, hydrogen and metabolised acetaldehyde.
The
device is designed so that if high levels of alcohol are detected on the
driver's breath, the key won't work in the vehicle, to prevent it from starting
and people drink driving.
The
device would show the results of the breathalyser test on the vehicle's display
panel on the dash board too.
The
Japanese companies said their prototype has advantages over other ignition
interlocks that stop a vehicle starting because it is tamper-resistant.
And it
is able to distinguish human breath from alternative gases.
The
device is able to do this because it contains a Hitachi
Breath
is absorbed by the insulator and electric current flows between the electrodes.
The
set-up means the device can detect alcohol with a high degree of accuracy,
despite the sensor area measuring just five square millimetres.
The
companies said the use of three sensors improves accuracy threefold compared to
devices that only use an ethanol sensor for measurement.
They
aim to commercialise the technology, following validation tests and will
present their research and prototype at the SAE 2016 World Congress and Exhibit
in Detroit , Michigan
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