New thermal imagery technology identifies drunk people through their face © RexThermal imaging technology is being developed that could detect drunk people through the temperature of their face.
Greek scientists have created software that can determine whether a person has drunk too much just by detecting the temperature of the different parts of their skin.
They say the system is better than judging if a person is drunk based on their behavior as it allows police officers to have ‘definitive evidence of inebriation’.
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The team devised two algorithms that can determine whether a person is drunk based on infrared thermal imaging of their face, according to a statement by the authors of the study, Georgia Koukiou and Vassilis Anastassopoulos of the Electronics Laboratory at University of Patras, Greece.
The first is similar to what is already used on passengers at international borders who are suspected of carrying a virus into the country, and is when hot spots on the face are identified using thermal-imaging scans.
Alcohol causes dilation of blood vessels in the surface of the skin, causing it to heat up. This can be picked up easily with the scanner.
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The second algorithm compares the warmth of different areas of the face – for example people’s noses get warmer when they’re intoxicated. A quick scan could easily identify the reason for a tipsy punter’s red face and dash hopes of getting into that exclusive bar.
The researchers say the software could be used at the entrance to bars and clubs to identify drunks before they become a public nuisance, but we’re not sure how nightlife owners will feel about turning away their staple clientele.