Hawaii students have IDEAS for a STEM Workforce These kids have what it takes for 21st century careers. By Hawaii Community Foundation Dec 27, 2018 Picture this: Members of a creative robotics team address a real-life problem in their neighborhood — drunken driving. They invent an electronic device to measure bloodalcohol content (BAC) via the steering wheel, using ceramic gas sensors to register the ethanol content emitted from the skin of the driver’s hands. The device communicates this information to the driver’s phone using Bluetooth technology and, if the driver’s BAC is higher than 0.04 percent, the phone sends a text message to a friend or relative, notifying them that the driver is impaired. That’s not all. The device uses GPS coordinates, so the friend or relative can find the driver with the over-the-limit BAC. Along with informing the friend or relative that the driver is inebriated, the text message offers the option of ordering a taxi or ride-hailing service for the driver. Like what you see? It’s neither science fiction nor corporate product. The Impaired Driver Electrochemical Alert System (IDEAS) was created by students of Kealakehe High School on Hawaii Island. Picture this: Members of a creative robotics team address a real-life problem in their neighborhood — drunken driving. They invent an electronic device to measure bloodalcohol content (BAC) via the steering wheel, using ceramic gas sensors to register the ethanol content emitted from the skin of the driver’s hands. The device communicates this information to the driver’s phone using Bluetooth technology and, if the driver’s BAC is higher than 0.04 percent, the phone sends a text message to a friend or relative, notifying them that the driver is impaired. That’s not all. The device uses GPS coordinates, so the friend or relative can find the driver with the over-the-limit BAC. Along with informing the friend or relative that the driver is
inebriated, the text message offers the option of ordering a taxi or ride-hailing service for the driver. Like what you see? It’s neither science fiction nor corporate product. The Impaired Driver Electrochemical Alert System (IDEAS) was created by students of Kealakehe High School on Hawaii Island.