This article is from the archives of the UB Reporter.
News

Company pilots breathalyzer kiosk

  • iconPrint

  • Bar patrons can use the SipSmart kiosk to make sure they stay safe to drive.

By CHARLOTTE HSU
Published: October 27, 2011

Local company Ladybug Teknologies has launched the SipSmart Network, a system of breathalyzer kiosks that enables bar patrons to stay safe by checking their level of intoxication before they drive.

The firm, whose U.S. headquarters is in UB’s Technology Incubator, also markets a handheld, personal breathalyzer, as well as a smart phone app that helps social drinkers keep track of their level of intoxication by logging, in real-time, each drink they consume.

Ladybug Teknologies is developing the kiosk system as its newest line of business in the United States and Canada. The goal: to prevent drunk driving by giving social drinkers access to information that can help them stay safe.

The SipSmart Network’s main component is a thin, sleek kiosk that encapsulates a police-grade breathalyzer. The machine employs state-of-the-art platinum fuel-cell technology to obtain accurate blood-alcohol measurements.

Patrons pay $5 to use the kiosk three times over the course of a night, blowing into the breathalyzer through a reusable mouthpiece they can purchase for 50 cents from a nearby dispenser that looks like a gumball machine.

Ladybug’s pilot program for the SipSmart Network includes three machines—one in Caputi’s Sheridan Pub, 2351 Sheridan Drive, Tonawanda; one in Koi in Hess Village in Hamilton, Ontario, and a third that will travel with Ladybug representatives to trade shows.

Founded in Canada, Ladybug expanded its operations into the U.S. market in 2010, opening an American headquarters in the UB Technology Incubator on Sweet Home Road adjacent to the North Campus. The incubator, run by UB’s Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (UB STOR), provides emerging businesses with the technical, business and financial assistance they need to become a force in Western New York’s knowledge economy.

Reader Comments

Tyler Dupont says:

What a ridiculous idea for the university to support.

It doesn't look like the goal of this machine is help patrons to remain safe or make the roads any safer for the rest of us. It simply allows people to know they won't be over the .08 legal limit and be able to skirt getting a DUI, regardless of the alcohol's actual effect on their motor skills, reaction times, etc.

Instead of the university "incubating" a private (Canadian) company why doesn't the university assist in making public transit work in WNY? That could actually reduce the number of inebriated drivers on the road and the risks associated w/them.

Also, if UB incubates these private companies, what claims do we have to the profits later on if one of these companies takes off? Or are we just subsidizing the start-up costs?

Posted by Tyler Dupont, Graduate Student, 10/24/11