Booze Tattoos: This New Wearable Device Calls The Cops If You Get Too Sauced

Woohoo!  It’s the weekend, and you want to hit the bars / clubs / speakeasies / after-hours / diners that serve booze / brunch / bars again, etc.  Go crazy!  But be careful not to get written up for driving under the influence, because now, robots will be able to rat you out if you grab another round...

If you're going to have enough money to do this,
also have enough money for a cab.
(Image courtesy usnews.com.)

According to the Daily Mail UK, the new device is a tech-infused tattoo that can be adhered to the suspiciously slosh-prone party and linked to an app to indicate alcohol levels as derived from their sweat.  Of course, this also means that doctors (and definitely police) will be able to keep tabs on what’s been on your tab.

This is supposedly not to be used as a challenge to see what you max out at.
Supposedly.
(Image courtesy thefix.com.)

Researchers believe that human sweat is a much more accurate real-time depicter of blood-alcohol levels, rather than ignition-hindering devices that operate on breath analysis.  Thus, the team who developed the new transdermal tattoo created their test to be as noninvasive and immediately accurate as possible.

As if the cops couldn't tell already about your alcohol levels
as discerned through your dumb drunk texts and Tweets.
(Image courtesy travarsa.com.)

The “tattoo” is adhered using an augmented version of the adhesive commonly made for temporary tattoos.  First, it induces sweat by infusing the skin with a small amount of the drug pilocarpine.  The body’s enzymatic reaction then enables electrochemical detection of the body’s blood-alcohol content.  A flexible onboard circuit board then transmits the data via Bluetooth to a mobile device or laptop (who knows, maybe even one held by the bartender.)

Overall, the process only requires 8 minutes, and is not susceptible to errors like mouthwash, humidity, or other variables that would affect breath-based detection devices.  The system could theoretically be used simply as proof of sobriety to unlock the cars of those serving sentences for DUI, but could also take a darker turn if the Thought Police turn into the Shot Police.

Their motto is "To Serve And Protect"...
not "To Serve Another Round."
(Image courtesy deeptrouble.com.)

With one person dying every 53 minutes in the United States due to an alcohol-related car accident, it’s a worthy effort to make sure that vehicles are being operated as safely as possible.  Let’s just hope these transdermal tats don’t get too insidious in their constant ability to monitor your mischief. 

Now, if only Bluetooth could rat you out for
texting and driving...
(Image courtesy learnersonline.com.)