This Gadget Will Tell You Just How Drunk You Are

When out drinking, there comes a point when you have to decide what kind of night you want to have. Just a couple of civilised cocktails? Or a full-on boozefest that you know will hurt tomorrow? Luckily, it could soon be a whole lot easier to gauge our alcohol limits with the help of a new piece of wearable tech. Proof, a wristband developed by California-based tech firm Milo Sensors, is currently being showcased at the world's biggest tech show, CES 2017 in Las Vegas. The gadget measures alcohol molecules through your skin via an enzyme-based electrochemical sensor that converts alcohol into an electrical current, Mashable reported. It uses disposable cartridges to ensure "reliable alcohol tracking for over 12 hours", according to the product's website. Like many fitness trackers, it can then tell users their blood alcohol content (BAC) through an accompanying Android or iOS app.

But Proof can do more than just tell you how drunk you currently are. It can also predict how drunk you'll be in the future, when you'll be sober and can alert you when your BAC hits a particular level. This could be useful if you need to know how long it'll take for you to be sober enough to drive home safely, removing the need to blow into a breathalyser or take a blood test. And if you're the sensible one in your friendship group, you can also befriend your loved ones on the app to make sure they're not overdoing it on the prosecco. Evan Strenk, CEO and cofounder of Milo Sensors, told Mashable the aim is to "empower people to make educated decision about alcohol". However, there's a risk that the device could be used by people (idiots) competing to see who can get the drunkest. Last year, Milo Sensors secured $100,000 in funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and this year the company plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign to bring Proof to market. The question is: do we really want to know how much alcohol is sloshing around our bloodstreams? Sometimes ignorance is bliss.