Her cousin was killed by a drunk driver. So she turned to tech to reduce DUIs
DYM Sense is an Israeli company that uses non-invasive technology to determine alcohol levels in drivers, preventing them from operating a vehicle if they’re over the limit.
Israeli tech company DYM Sense is developing a real-time, non-invasive measurement of blood alcohol levels to try to reduce the number of drunk driving accidents on roads across the world. Following legislation of mandatory in-car breathalyzers by 2026 in President Biden’s Infrastructure Act, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) will be required to provide tools to enact this - and the Israeli company is already getting into gear for the top spot in potential partnerships.
“I founded the company three years ago, but I've been working on it almost all my life,” explained Dor Heller, Co-Founder and CEO of DYM Sense. “The idea behind the company came after I lost my cousin Yaara. After the accident, my main goal has been to develop a system that measures and assesses drivers’ ability to assume driving responsibilities.”
According to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), 37,000 lives were taken in traffic crashes in the U.S. in 2017, with roughly 29% of those due to drunk driving. In Europe, the numbers are roughly the same, with 25% of road deaths caused by alcohol. Globally, drunk driving is still the top cause of death on every roadway.
In Israel, the numbers are more concerning: 47% of residents in Haifa and the northern region freely admit to drunk driving, believing the substance doesn’t impact their driving abilities. According to CBS data analyzed by the Or Yarok association, 1,709 people were injured in traffic accidents due to drunk driving in the last five years, an average of 342 people each year.
The DYM sensor is a small finger pad that connects to the vehicle’s ignition system and performs real-time bio identification, and alcohol detection, and offers continuous monitoring. When the driver enters the car, they are required to place their fingers on the ignition button or steering wheel and the car will only start if alcohol levels are not identified.
Importantly, the technology doesn’t technically require a fingerprint so privacy is still honored for the driver, and all data is collected per European regulations, famously some of the strictest in the world. The company has already secured two patents in the U.S., Europe, and Japan with three more in process.
It hopes to partner with OEMs as they rush to develop technologies to comply with new regulations on some of the 100 million new vehicles that are built each year (20% of which come from the U.S. alone). The company has already signed a collaboration agreement with “one of the top 10 tier 1” companies but is legally bound from saying more at this time. It is understood DYM Sense will have a working solution in two years.
In a world where techies hope self-driving cars will replace human drivers entirely, DYM Sense runs the risk of becoming obsolete or irrelevant in the future. To combat this, the company also hopes to expand into other areas, such as drug and tiredness detection in humans for other devices, such as smartwatches to enter buildings, airplanes, or other areas. This could in effect cause a slippery slope into territory that may infringe on people’s cognitive liberties if companies or fleet management would force employees to adopt such technologies that focus on their mental or emotional states going far beyond the scope of substance tracking.
“In the first few years it was just an option to put on your seatbelts, but today even if I need to drive for two minutes in the parking lot without it I feel very unsafe,” Heller explained when asked about people’s willingness to adopt such tools after getting enshrined by legislation. “This is exactly the change that we want to make in regards to drunk driving.”
Currently, DYM Sense is made up of 12 people and already secured $4 million: $3 million from private investors and a $1 million grant from the Israel Innovation Authority. The company is set to embark on a Seed round soon.
