Use of water cluster detector for preventing drunk and drowsy driving

Implementing safety measures to prevent drunk and drowsy driving is a major technical challenge for the car industry. We have developed a system that involves a non-contact breath sensor to do this. The breath sensor detects breath by measuring electric currents of positively or negatively charged water clusters in breath that are separated by using an electric field. Our device couples a breath sensor with an alcohol sensor, and simultaneously detects the electrical signals of both breath and alcohol in the breath. This ensures that the sample is from a person´s breath, not an artificial source. Furthermore, our breath sensor can detect breath from about 50 cm, and can also test the level of alertness of a subject sitting in the driver´s seat. This is done by measuring the point of time the breathing changes from conscious, such as in pursed-lip breathing, to unconscious when the driver becomes drowsy. This is the first time that one device has been used to detect both drunk and drowsy driving.