Japan's KDDI Corp. Develops Cell Phone Breathalyzer
December 28, 2006 6:36 PM | Technology | Comments (0)
Last June, LG announced the LG LP4100 equipped with a breathalyzer will soon hit the US Market. The LG LP4100 is currently selling in Korea and has been very successful. As usual, like Korea, the Japanese are ahead when it comes to adapting new cell phone technologies. Japan's second largest mobile operator KDDI Corp. has helped develop a cell phone breathalyzer that will let bus and taxi companies determine if their drivers can take the wheel. The drivers blow into a tube attached to the cell phone that measures their level of intoxication and automatically sends the results to their company's computer via the cell phone. Additionally, the cell phone named Alc-Mobile, transmits snapshots of the driver's face and location using GPS (Global Positioning System). If a driver is inebriated, an alarm will sound at the bosses' computer. Sales of the Alc-Mobile have increased since this summer when a nationwide campaign against drunk driving followed the deaths of three children by a drunk driver in the southwestern city of Fukuoka. |  |
Four hundred sets of ALC-Mobile have been sold to over 30 companies at a price of 89,000 yen (750 dollars) each. The computer software costs another 58,000 yen (500 dollars).
Japan had nearly 14,000 drunk driving accidents last year, killing 707 people, the National Police Agency said.
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