Alcohol related technology, like thermal facial scans, are constantly emerging. At a time where students and young professionals are seeking to make the next big startup or app, no stone is left unturned; this includes booze. Even though we would all love to visit a vineyard in the yarra valley, technology can deter us from doing so. Have a look at these new technologies, which could alter the way we indulge with alcohol.
Thermal Facial Imaging
At Greece’s University of Patras, researchers found that drinking Alcohol raises body temperature in the face. Okay, no surprise there. I have been subject to some bar tans myself. However, the Greeks also discovered, through thermal imaging, that certain regions of the face are more likely to increase in temperatures than others, the mouth and nose areas more so than the brow. A recent post by Yahoo! decides that through this thermal imaging, two possible approaches could be employed to determine drunkenness. The first uses an algorithm to compare photographs housed in a database of facial pics of individuals both drunk and sober. The second is an algorithm, which decides whether one’s facial heat is truly brought on by overindulgence in booze. Scarier than anything else, the report suggests this sort of technology can be used not only in liquor stores, but in airports and other public areas also. That means no more scotch to calm those nerves prior to takeoff.
Don’t Sweat It
Transdermal systems measure a person’s alcohol level through their sweat. As Reported by alcohol Detection Technologies: Present and Future published by the ABI, “Transdermal systems are touch-sensors that may continuously monitor drivers’ (or non-drivers’) BAC levels. When a person drinks alcohol, traces of alcohol are found in the individual’s sweat. These devices measure BAC based on how much alcohol is found in sweat.”
What is great about this is that it measures a driver’s BAC during The duration of the automobile ride. If someone were to eat 6 drinks quickly, their BAC would not jump right into the legal limitation of .08, this could happen over time. So in the case of a typical breathalyzer, an individual could easily get behind the wheel before feeling the effects of the fantastic drink or after a long day out at a restaurant and winery. Transdermal detectors constantly take measurements of the BAC in your perspiration. This technology can be found in body-worn apparatus like ankle bracelets, and is one injury prevention method not to mess with for a safe trip home!
Bottoms Up
The Bottoms Up Beer Dispenser is Perfect for home parties, frat parties, birthdays, weddings, and any day that ends in “y”. What is so good about it? It can pour up to 44 beers (pints, not those amateur 12oz. Cups) in a moment. And, it does it from the bottom up. How does this work? The plastic eyeglasses have a refrigerator magnet on the bottom, a ring that sticks itself to a corresponding donut-shape strip round the filling-hole that reseals after the beer was poured. Okay, but why a refrigerator magnet? Seems a bit strange to drink from a plastic cup with a magnet embedded on the floor, but the response is simply marketing, and remember not to drink to much in one hit to minimize fall prevention.
OnTheBar
Lots of individuals have a favorite pub, and many people also have a popular bartender. It may be frustrating when you go down to your favorite watering hole for a drink or 2 (10?) But the one person who knows how to perfectly shake, not stir, your vodka martinis is working their second job. Fret not. Last month, my colleague Lisa Decanio emphasized the sheer elegance of onthebar, a mobile program which allows locals to contact their favorite bartenders and inform them when they are really on the job tending bar. Look for bartenders, look up their bios, geo-locate where they are working, and incorporate everything on your preferred social networking platforms. Now you never need to wait in a seemingly endless line overrun with sweaty middle-aged guys and ‘roid ragin’ Jersey Shore wannabes to get a watered-down 7&7 in the 21-year old fresh from mixology course wearing a shirt two sizes too small and an anorexically skinny tie since you are favorite bartender gets the night off. Available for iOS and Android devices.
BrewGene
Another mobile program, BrewGene is perfect for beer snobs and forgetful individuals alike. With over 40,000 beers listed in the program’s database and an algorithm that makes correlations between users and various kinds of beers, all you have got to do is rate the beers you prefer and you also get custom recommendations according to your own taste. No more forgetting which beers you have tried and either like or loathed. No longer caving in and buying Natty Ice as you have been staring at the various choices in the liquor store and you are late to your own party as you cannot decide on which frosty delight to buy. BrewGene believes for you. Show off to your friends or try to impress that girl with your enormous, dexterous understanding of granulated liquor.
