Kealakehe High School InvenTeam

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
2017-2018

The Kealakehe High School InvenTeam invented the Impaired Driver Electrochemical Alert System (IDEAS) to measure blood alcohol content (BAC) on a car’s steering wheel. The system utilizes ceramic gas sensors to measure the ethanol content emitted from the skin of a driver’s hands. The driver’s hand ethanol emissions are proportional to the amount of ethanol in the driver’s blood stream and is used to determine BAC. The system communicates with a driver’s phone using Bluetooth™ technology. In the instance that the BAC of the driver is higher than 0.04%, an SMS message is sent via the user’s phone to a pre-designated individual or organization notifying the recipient that the driver is currently impaired. The system also uses geolocation services to determine if the driver’s BAC is greater than the legal limit where the driver is located. The pre-designated individual or organization will receive an SMS message informing them that the driver is inebriated and could be subject to a DUI if the driver is over the legal BAC in their current location. The IDEAS software will then offer the recipient of the message the option of ordering a taxi or ride-share service for the inebriated driver.