Smartphones have made life easier for people, but the one dream app that is still yet to be developed is one that prevents people from sending drunken texts. While the technology for that hasn’t been developed, smartphones may soon be able to tell users when they’ve had too much to drink. A new study revealed smartphones have the ability to tell when someone is intoxicated based on their movement.
The study, published recently in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, saw 22 adults attempt to walk a straight line after drinking a vodka cocktail in 60 minutes. Researcher’s strapped smartphones to the participant’s backs in order to measure their speed and movements during each 20-step walk. After attempting to walk a straight line once every hour for seven hours, researchers were able to confirm which participants were drunk 90% of the time.
“We found preliminary evidence supporting use of gait-related features measured by smartphone accelerometer sensors to detect alcohol intoxication,” claimed the study. While it is unknown what type of app will be developed based on this study, researchers hope it can help reduce alcohol consumption. If anything it may just help people realize just how drunk they are.
Via New York Post