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Press Association
It is hoped that alerts could be developed on phones to prevent people from driving when they are over the limit
Smartphones can detect when you’ve been drinking too much by monitoring your walk, study finds.
US researchers have used sensors in smartphones to detect when someone is over the legal limit for drinking and driving.
Phones were able to do this with around 90% accuracy when users walked just 10 steps in the University of Pittsburgh study.
Scientists hope the discovery can be used to develop device alerts, such as asking people not to drive drunk.
“We have powerful sensors that we carry with us wherever we go,” said lead researcher Brian Suffoletto. “We must learn to use them to better serve public health.”
The study involved 22 participants aged 21 to 43, who were given a vodka and lime juice drink every hour until they reached 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood. .
In the United States and England, Wales and Northern Ireland, this is the alcohol limit for drivers. In Scotland, the limit is 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.
With a smartphone strapped to their back, participants performed a walking task every two hours – walk in a straight line for 10 steps, turn around, and go back.
About 90% of the time, the researchers were able to identify those who were over the limit thanks to gait changes highlighted by the phones.
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Press Association
It is hoped that alerts could be developed on phones to prevent people from driving when they are over the limit
One application could be to inform users who do not think they are impaired not to drive.
“I lost a close friend in a drunk driving accident in college,” said Dr. Suffoletto. “And as an emergency doctor, I have cared for dozens of adults suffering from injuries related to acute alcohol poisoning.
“For this reason, I have spent the past 10 years testing digital interventions to prevent fatalities and injuries from binge drinking.
Although this is a small preliminary study, scientists hope it will lay the groundwork for further research. They want to conduct additional experiments that better mimic the way people carry their phones, like in their hands or in their pockets.
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“This is a controlled study, but in any wider public application you will need to consider how this data is collected and used,” said Professor Daniel Dresner, cybersecurity expert at the University of Manchester.
“There is no limit to the ingenuity of the uses that data can be used or misused, but it is important to remember how this science can be adapted in the future. Could it connect to the immobilizer in the car so it won’t let you drive? Will it alert a friend or the authorities if you shouldn’t drive? “
Last year, nearly 360,000 hospital admissions in England were mainly due to alcohol consumption, with around 6,000 alcohol-related deaths.
“In five years, I would like to imagine a world in which if people go out with friends and drink at risky levels, they receive an alert at the first sign of impairment and are given strategies to help them quit and drink. protect – from risky events like driving, interpersonal violence and unprotected sexual encounters, ”said Dr Suffoletto.
The results were published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
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