Israeli
army veteran Ben Biron’s new invention could save more lives per
year than racks of Kevlar vests and warehouses full of armor plating.
Also, it tells you where to get cheese fries late-night.
At
24, he’s created Alcohoot, the world’s first smartphone
breathalyzer. Biron hopes the product’s sleek design -- along with
an app that charts blood-alcohol levels over the course of a night
and connects users with nearby taxis and post-bar eateries -- will
increase its appeal and decrease drunk
driving.
Biron
and his co-founder, Jonathan Ofir, first witnessed the problem in
2010 during their time in the Israel Defense Force. A sign posted at
the army base’s entrance listed drunk driving as a
leading cause of death among soldiers -- a tall order in a place
where ducking rockets is just another day at the office.
When
Biron saw similar behavior after enrolling in Wingate University, 30
miles outside Charlotte, he began formulating the idea for Alcohoot.
It was time to make breathalzyers cool.
"Moderate
drinkers have more fun," Biron said. "You stay out later,
you get the girl and that's the whole idea," he added. "Alcohoot
lets people use data to drive their drinking decisions rather than
just relying on their instincts.
The
device, roughly a quarter the size of an iPhone, plugs into the
phone's audio port and takes about 10 seconds to calculate blood
alcohol levels. Alcohoot’s breathalyzer, according to the company,
uses the same fuel sensors found in police-grade breathalyzers. And
the $75 device costs significantly less than models used by law
enforcement, which retail for around $800, Biron said.
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