Introduction
According to the UK drink driving statistics (2010), over 3000 people are either killed or seriously injured in accidents related to drink driving. The problem with alcohol is that the more an individual consumes, the more confident he or she gets and consequently the more risks he or she is willing to take on the road. Most people when sober would outrightly condemn the act of driving under the influence of alcohol but once they go out ostensibly to have fun, the temptation to personally drive back home is usually overwhelming. This was the main criterion that guided the design of a jacket that would not only serve the purpose that a jacket is supposed to but would also help protect individuals from making the irrational decision of driving under the influence. This paper analysis the concept of the design, gives a scenario of the jacket in use and analyses the advantages and disadvantages of the jacket here-in referred to as the Super Smart Jacket.
Design concept (Fig. 1)
The Super Smart jacket is to be made of normal clothing material with washable computing fibers integrated into the meshwork. This is because of the fact that as much as the aspect of creating a technologically savvy piece is the main idea, functionability has to be considered as well (Mann 1996). The key components which are to be embedded into the jacket include the sensor unit, the processor and the USB interface port. Sensors will be incorporated within the material to serve the purpose of detecting changes in various body functions and direct the data obtained to a processing unit. For instance, a tiny microphone will be installed in the jacket to record all aspects of speech such as pitch, volume and the amount of slur. A stability sensor will also be installed to record the resistance to change in position of the individual hence determine the stability of the wearer. With technology coming in, a micro-breathalyzer will be installed preferably at the collar and this will detect the amount of alcohol consumed. At a separate corner of the jacket, a processor is fixed to handle the process of analyzing the data before sending out a desired response wirelessly to another system that will make the wearer’s car unusable for a certain amount of time. To link the processor to the sensors is a system of fibers forming a data bus. A micro-USB port will also be included in the system to serve as an interface between the wearer and the computing system.
Operation of the Super Smart Jacket (Scenario) (Fig. 2)
An individual owning a Super Smart Jacket can wear it on a night out. Since the computing systems are very small, they don’t change the level of comfort that one expects from a casual jacket. The wearer then goes ahead to indulge in consumption of alcohol. Meanwhile the breathalyzer, the voice sensors and stability sensors are picking up every detail that they are designed to. The collected information is sent to the processor via the data bus. The processor analyses the levels of change in speech patterns, the levels of alcohol consumed and the stability in the walk of the wearer and compares it with preset installed data for calculating the amount inebriation. Once the levels reach a mark that indicates the inability of the individual to drive, a signal is sent via satellite to another electronic system pre-installed in the car which is designed to lock the ignition completely. Another signal is sent to the mobile phone of a close confidant of the individual in the form of a text message requesting transport assistance and revealing the location of the wearer using the global positioning system, GPS (Mann 1997). A third signal is continuously sent wirelessly to a computer at home and the wearer can log in to analyze the information. Once the individual has been picked up by his friend or by a taxi and has arrived home safely, he can plug in the jacket to the computer via the micro-USB interface and send a signal that will unlock the car which can be picked up at a later time.
Interaction description (Fig. 2)
There are two ways via which the wearer can interact with the super smart jacket. These are the wireless system and direct connection to a computer via the micro-USB hub. Once the car system has been locked, it can only be unlocked from a specific computer that the wearer has chosen as center of operations. The wearer has to connect the jacket to the computer via USB cables and send in the necessary instruction to unlock the car drive system. The wireless system indirectly interacts with the wearer of the jacket by carrying out the most appropriate action for the moment on behalf of the individual. The wearer can also send information wirelessly to the system in the case a car robbery happens with the car still inside thereby rendering the car unusable.
Advantages of the Super-Smart Jacket
The super smart jacket, seeing that it is made of regular clothing material with microscopic installation of the computing system, is as comfortable and functional as any other jacket. However, it serves the very crucial function of keeping the wearer away from drink driving by automatically limiting the operations of the car. Since the individual has to first get home to a computer that has been installed with particular software that supports the jacket, he has no option but to wait for someone to come and pick him up or take the only other alternative, that is a taxi.
Since the jacket is constantly sending information via a wireless system to a computer at home, it will come in handy in tracking kidnap victims. This is because more often than not, kidnappers will discard their victim’s phone in a bid to shake off trackers but would almost never think of taking off the victim’s clothing. As such, once authorities have been notified of a kidnap case, appropriate equipment can be used to intercept the signal from the Super Smart Jacket and use it to locate the individual.
The system can also be used to intentionally render the car unusable should it be stolen in hijacking cases. All the wearer has to do is wirelessly send appropriate instruction to lock the car ignition from the computer at home. Once the car has been abandoned, the system can then be unlocked and the car collected appropriately.
The inbuilt microphone can also serve to record conversations which are then stored in a computer that is located miles away. This can be used by practitioners of the media profession when seeking to gather secret information that is relevant to the public from an area where they are not allowed to carry recording tools into. In a way, the jacket will serve as a spying device.
Limitations
The cost of producing one such jacket is quite on the higher side. In order to make processors, sensors and washable conducting fibers that are small enough to fit unnoticeably within the jacket material and at the same time carry out all the desired computing functions, a large sum of money has to be invested; a condition that will make mass production of the jacket an impossibility. As well, communication installations have to be made of wireless services supporting the specific needs of the jacket.
The jacket is only functional as long as someone is wearing it. From the scenario above, if the wearer were to feel hot and decide to take off the jacket earlier in the evening, the car lock system will not be activated and as such, he can freely drive home. The upside is that chances are on the higher side that the individual might take the jacket off while drinking but still wear it enroute to the car. In this case, the breathalyzer will automatically kick in and intervene before the wearer gets behind the wheel.
The jacket can also not work alone in this role of preventing drink driving. A specific system has to be installed in the car that will respond to the particular signal emanating from the jacket. This therefore means that while there maybe enough motivation to actualize the super smart jacket design, car manufacturers may not buy into the idea of spending extra money in the installation of a computing system within new cars that will only be useful to individuals who drink.
In the same way that the inbuilt sensors are helpful, they can serve to infringe on the privacy of the wearer. Since information is sent wirelessly from the jacket, the signal can be intercepted by unscrupulous individuals with the necessary equipment. These individuals can then easily listen in to private conversations and even track the movement of the wearer should they intend to inflict bodily harm (Kohler 1964).
Other possible uses of the ‘Super Smart Jacket’ concept
The concept of a wearable computing device can be put to use in many other different ways. For instance, sensors can be incorporated into the jacket to record the vital statistics of individuals with heart diseases. Once the heart functions reach an un desired level, a message can be sent wirelessly to the mobile phone of the wearer alerting him to address the situation on adequately. The same can be used in hospitals to monitor the conditions of ICU patients such that it does not require a person to stay in the room physically monitoring the vital details of the patient. A patient gown can be designed to alert nurses of a dangerous change in the patient’s vital statistics via short messages to their mobile phones.
Conclusion
The Super Smart Jacket is a wearable computing device which if successfully integrated into the market, can help in reducing the number of drink driving incidents on the roads. This is because statistical evidence has proven that human beings are subject to time and again make unintelligible decisions; decisions that are mostly very hard to walk away from. The concept of the Super Smart Jacket once actualized will aid in making appropriate decisions even when the individual’s thought processes have been impaired by alcohol. Technology is a gradually changing field and with time the necessary electronic advancement will have been made to enable the realization of concepts such as the one that has been described above (Dolezal 1982).
Reference List
Dolezal, H, 1982, Living in a world transformed: Academic press series in cognition and perception, Academic press, Chicago, Illinois.
Kohler, I, 1964, The formation and transformation of the perceptual world, volume 3, Psychological issues, International University press, 227 West 13 Street.
Mann, S, 1996, ‘Smart clothing’, The shift to wearable computing, Communications of the ACM, pages 23—24.
Mann,S, 1997, The wearable computer and the wearcam, Springer, Web.
WCCL 2010, Uk drink driving statitstics.WCCL, Web.