An iPhone case has been developed that has a built-in breathalyser. A Japanese firm, Thanko, has reportedly created the case, which has a test hole into which the user breathes. This corresponds with an app that allows the blood alcohol reading to pop up 20 seconds later.
The firm has said the device can assist the user in determining whether it is still safe to drive or not, but should not be used as a standalone device to determine a safe driving limit.
The display on the case lights up as red, yellow or green. When the screen glows yellow, the user is supposedly bordering on being over the limit and should stop drinking and wait a while before doing the breathalyser test again.
Media reports suggest the case has been developed according to the UK blood alcohol driving limit, which is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
The iPhone case is not the first mobile tool for drinkers. A US-based company has developed a device and corresponding app called Breathometer, which can not only give the user a blood alcohol level reading, but also call a taxi
The Breathometer plugs into the phone's headphone jack and the user blows into the device. An ethanol sensor embedded in the device detects alcohol on the breath and connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth to give a blood alcohol level reading reportedly with accuracy within 0.01%.
If your blood alcohol is too high, the app can hail a cab using your GPS location. It also offers other features such as estimating how long it will take for the user to become sober and compiling a user's drinking habits into a graph.
The Breathometer device is set to ship in November, and works with all iOS and Android devices.
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