FRIDAY, January 21, 2011

 

Science at the Edge Seminar, 11:30 a.m., Room 1400 BPS Bldg.

Speaker: David K. Lambert

Title:  New technology to stop drunk drivers from driving

 

New technology to stop drunk drivers from driving

 

David K. Lambert

 

Recent advances make it practical to check every driver’s blood alcohol concentration.  An infrared measurement system with sufficient speed and accuracy is described.  It uses a puff of the driver’s exhaled breath.  The system draws in ambient air, and compares the time-varying concentrations of ethanol vapor and exhaled breath to determine the driver’s blood alcohol concentration.  The calculated accuracy, in 1 s, is 400 times smaller than the legal intoxication limit in the U.S.  The system appears practical.  Should technology be used to eliminate drunk driving?

 

 

 

Shawna Prater / Secretary

Astrophysics Group

Michigan State University

3261 Biomedical Physical Sciences Bldg

East Lansing, MI 48824-2320

Ph: (517) 884-5601 Fax (517) 432-8802

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