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It's a gadget about the size of a pack of gum—and it might just save your life. The pd.id, short for Personal Drink Identification Device, can detect whether your drink has been drugged in just a few seconds.
Founder David Wilson and his Toronto-based team are crowdfunding on Indiegogo, with a goal of $100,000 by the end of August. The idea is to raise enough money to develop the product, and then get more funding to mass-produce it. Wilson started working on the device three years ago, with a larger goal of raising awareness about date rape drugs and empowering women and men to protect themselves against drugs like roofies. Wilson cites statistics that say that 25% of sexual assault is due to alcohol and date rape drugs.
Here's how it works: You dunk the device in your drink where it collects a tiny sample of fluid in its reservoir. It then detects chemical properties of your drink and checks results against a database to determine what your drink is, and whether foreign substances are in it. A blinking LED light will let you know if your drink is safe.
The battery-operated gadget can also sync with a smartphone app, which can text or call you if your drink has been tampered with. Ideally, Wilson says, he'd like to create a heatmap of the gadget's reporting; that way, if you pass a bar with frequent reports of drugged drinks, you'll know before going in.
The device has the best of intentions, but one big obstacle—who's going to want to take this out at a bar? Date rape isn't exactly a topic you want to bring up every time you go out. Wilson knows this is an issue, but thinks of the pd.id like a condom—your health is more important than any social awkwardness. "It's simply self-preservation, he says. "If a guy doesn't like it, he can move on."
