 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consumer Electronics |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder | Keith Nothacker |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, USA |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | BACtrack S80, BACtrack Mobile,BACtrack S75, BACtrack Element,BACtrack Vio,BACtrack S35,BACtrack Go Keychain. |
| Website | www |
BACtrack is a brand of portable breathalyzers owned by KHN Solutions. [1] [2] It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. [2]
BACtrack was founded by Keith Nothacker in 2001, during his senior year at the University of Pennsylvania, when he began selling consumer products online.
In 2004, BACtrack received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing clearance to sell the AlcoMate CA2000 breathalyzer. [3] BACTrack was among the first companies to sell breathalyzers to the general public for personal use that year. [4]
The BACtrack Mobile Smartphone Breathalyzer is a pocket-size breathalyzer that pairs with smartphones and other smart devices via an app and Bluetooth LE, producing an estimate of blood alcohol content (BAC). Results are displayed on the smart device or smartphone screen. [5] Released on April 23, 2013, the device was the first smartphone-connected breathalyzer available for commercial purchase. [6]
The accuracy of BACtrack Mobile was independently tested and found to be comparable to law enforcement breath alcohol testers. [7] The results of one such study were published in the Journal of Injury Prevention. [7]
The BACtrack Mobile Smartphone Breathalyzer won a Popular Science "Best of What’s New Award" as a breakthrough technology in the Health Category for 2013. [8]
BACtrack Mobile and BACtrack Keychain received Car and Driver's highest rating in an industry-wide comparison in March 2014. [9] [ failed verification ]
In June, 2014, BACtrack released the BACtrack Consumption Report an aggregation of drinking data and alcohol consumption patterns compiled from users of the BACtrack Mobile Smartphone Breathalyzer. [10]
The data were compiled over the course of a year and represent more than 100,000 alcohol tests taken in over 35 countries, and in all 50 US States. Some of the information in the report includes average blood alcohol content by city and state. [11]
BACtrack demonstrated the first smartphone-based remote alcohol monitoring system at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show. [12] BACtrack View uses the front facing camera of an iOS or Android phone to record a user blowing to BACtrack Mobile. The user's BAC result, along with the date, time, and location, are sent in real time to another user for monitoring.
On May 19, 2016, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) announced that BACtrack won first prize in the Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge. [13] The Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge, issued through Challenge.gov in March 2015, called for non-invasive wearable technology that could improve upon existing alcohol biosensor technology used in the criminal justice system. An improved alcohol biosensor could be a valuable resource for the alcohol research community, decreasing reliance on participant self-report in scientific studies.
BACtrack's winning entry, called BACtrack Skyn, is worn on the wrist and measures transdermal alcohol content. Results are transmitted continuously over Bluetooth to a smartphone app. [14] In 2023, an external team of university researchers validated and published open-source code that can be used to model alcohol drinking in research studies using transdermal alcohol data collected from BACtrack Skyn devices. [15]
Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example, a BAC of 0.10 by volume means that there is 0.10 g of alcohol for every 100 mL of blood, which is the same as 21.7 mmol/L. A BAC of 0.10 by mass (0.10%) is 0.10 g of alcohol per 100 g of blood (23 mmol/L). A BAC of 0.0 is sober; in different countries the maximum permitted BAC when driving ranges from about 0.02% to 0.08%; BAC levels over 0.08% are considered impaired; above 0.40% is potentially fatal.
A wearable computer, also known as a body-borne computer, is a computing device worn on the body. The definition of 'wearable computer' may be narrow or broad, extending to smartphones or even ordinary wristwatches.
Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm (1.57 in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used to bootstrap more capable wireless connections. Like other "proximity card" technologies, NFC is based on inductive coupling between two so-called antennas present on NFC-enabled devices—for example a smartphone and a printer—communicating in one or both directions, using a frequency of 13.56 MHz in the globally available unlicensed radio frequency ISM band using the ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface standard at data rates ranging from 106 to 848 kbit/s.
Driving under the influence (DUI) is the offense of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs, to a level that renders the driver incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely. Multiple other terms are used for the offense in various jurisdictions.
Mobile computing is human–computer interaction in which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage and allow for transmission of data, which can include voice and video transmissions. Mobile computing involves mobile communication, mobile hardware, and mobile software. Communication issues include ad hoc networks and infrastructure networks as well as communication properties, protocols, data formats, and concrete technologies. Hardware includes mobile devices or device components. Mobile software deals with the characteristics and requirements of mobile applications.
A mobile device is a computer, small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical keyboard. Many such devices can connect to the Internet and connect with other devices such as car entertainment systems or headsets via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular networks or near field communication. Integrated cameras, the ability to place and receive voice and video telephone calls, video games, and Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities are common. Power is typically provided by a lithium-ion battery. Mobile devices may run mobile operating systems that allow third-party applications to be installed and run.
A breathalyzer or breathalyser is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC), or to detect viruses or diseases from a breath sample.
The mobile web refers to mobile browser-based World Wide Web services accessed from handheld mobile devices, such as smartphones or feature phones, through a mobile or other wireless network.
Proximity marketing is the localized wireless distribution of advertising content associated with a particular place. Transmissions can be received by individuals in that location who wish to receive them and have the necessary equipment to do so.
In-car entertainment (ICE), or in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), is a collection of hardware and software in automobiles that provides audio or video entertainment. In car entertainment originated with car audio systems that consisted of radios and cassette or CD players, and now includes automotive navigation systems, video players, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, carputers, in-car internet, and WiFi. Once controlled by simple dashboards knobs and dials, ICE systems can include steering wheel audio controls, handsfree voice control, touch-sensitive preset buttons, and even touch screens on higher-end units. Latest models of In-car entertainment systems are coming equipped with rear-view cameras along with side cameras for better safety.
Bluetooth Low Energy is a wireless personal area network technology designed and marketed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group aimed at novel applications in the healthcare, fitness, beacons, security, and home entertainment industries. It is independent of classic Bluetooth and has no compatibility, but Bluetooth Basic Rate/Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR) and LE can coexist. The original specification was developed by Nokia in 2006 under the name Wibree, which was integrated into Bluetooth 4.0 in December 2009 as Bluetooth Low Energy.
Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the skin, where they detect, analyze, and transmit information such as vital signs, and/or ambient data and which allow in some cases immediate biofeedback to the wearer.
A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While early models could perform basic tasks, such as calculations, digital time telling, translations, and game-playing, smartwatches released since 2015 have more general functionality closer to smartphones, including mobile apps, a mobile operating system and WiFi/Bluetooth connectivity. Some smartwatches function as portable media players, with FM radio and playback of digital audio and video files via a Bluetooth headset. Some models, called watch phones, have mobile cellular functionality such as making telephone calls.
A body area network (BAN), also referred to as a wireless body area network (WBAN) or a body sensor network (BSN) or a medical body area network (MBAN), is a wireless network of wearable computing devices. BAN devices may be embedded inside the body as implants or pills, may be surface-mounted on the body in a fixed position, or may be accompanied devices which humans can carry in different positions, such as in clothes pockets, by hand, or in various bags. While there is a trend toward the miniaturization of devices, in particular body area networks which consist of several miniaturized body sensor units (BSUs) together with a single body central unit (BCU), larger decimeter sized smart devices still play an important role in terms of acting as a data hub or data gateway and providing a user interface to view and manage BAN applications, in-situ. The development of WBAN technology started around 1995 around the idea of using wireless personal area network (WPAN) technologies to implement communications on, near, and around the human body. About six years later, the term "BAN" came to refer to systems where communication is entirely within, on, and in the immediate proximity of a human body. A WBAN system can use WPAN wireless technologies as gateways to reach longer ranges. Through gateway devices, it is possible to connect the wearable devices on the human body to the internet. This way, medical professionals can access patient data online using the internet independent of the patient location.
Breathometer was a device that claimed to measure someone's blood alcohol content using their iOS and Android smartphones. However, the app proved unreliable, and was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission. Breathometer was founded in September 2013 by Charles Michael Yim, who is the company's current CEO.
An activity tracker, also known as a fitness tracker, is a device or application for monitoring and tracking fitness-related metrics such as distance walked or run, calorie consumption, and in some cases heartbeat. It is a type of wearable computer. The term is now primarily used for smartwatches that are synced, in many cases wirelessly, to a computer or smartphone for long-term data tracking. There are also independent mobile and Facebook apps. Some evidence has found that the use of these type of devices results in less weight loss rather than more. Sleep tracker devices have a tendency to underdetect wakefulness.
Wireless ambulatory electrocardiography (ECG) is a type of ambulatory electrocardiography with recording devices that use wireless technology, such as Bluetooth and smartphones, for at-home cardiac monitoring (monitoring of heart rhythms). These devices are generally recommended to people who have been previously diagnosed with arrhythmias and want to have them monitored, or for those who have suspected arrhythmias and need to be monitored over an extended period of time in order to be diagnosed.
Hearables or smart headphones or earbuds are electronic in-ear devices designed for multiple purposes. The category is split between hearables for hearing health, and hearables for other applications.
Bluetooth beacons are hardware transmitters — a class of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) devices that broadcast their identifier to nearby portable electronic devices. The technology enables smartphones, tablets and other devices to perform actions when in close proximity to a beacon.
A coronavirus breathalyzer is a diagnostic medical device enabling the user to test with 90% or greater accuracy the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in an exhaled breath. As of the first half of 2020, the idea of a practical coronavirus breathalyzer was concomitantly developed by unrelated research groups in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, United Kingdom and USA.