2014
product design
fiat
A car key designed to save lives.
my role
Original Concept, Art Direction, Product, UX and Design Director
about
We created an innovative accessory that won’t let you drive if you had drunk. Simply blow into the Fiat Safe Key where indicated and in less than 1 second, it analyzes the alcohol level in your body. If the driver has consumed alcohol, it will not open.
awards
Cannes Lions, Shortlist, Innovation
Clio 2016, Shortlist, Product Design
what is
Much more than just a safety drive campaign
backstage
Isobar is a design and advertising agency. We are not a startup, we are not the MIT. We do not want to compete with tech companies. We see innovation from the communication point of view of. We create innovation that helps to build brands and ultimately help to transform the business of our clients. We seek innovation with purpose. That solves real problems with scalable ideas.
Fiat Brazil has a history of innovation that helped them build a strong brand among younger drivers. Fiat made the first ethanol powered car in Brazil, and even the first car ever made in a collaborative manner. They became the leading car manufacturer in sales in Brazil and, since 2012, decided to lead a movement for better roads in the country.
They asked us to help solve a very real problem: The World Health Organization reported that only in 2014, 3.3 million deaths were attributed to alcohol consumption.
The solution we come up with was to create a car key designed to save lives.
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It works in a very straightforward way. Simply blow into the Fiat Safe Key where indicated. And in less than 1 second, it analyzes the alcohol level in your body.
If the driver has not consumed alcohol it will unlock, otherwise, it will not.
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The Fiat Safe Key is not just a key with an embedded breathalyzer but an 8 months project that created an extremely ergonomic high-tech object with an unprecedented response time and yet with a battery life of more than one year.
It can be used in both hands, the surface is designed to optimize the blowing ar into the internal components and the feedback by LED makes it simple and easy to understand in different lighting conditions.
The real challenge was to reinvent the object keeping it small and durable as a conventional key, but making it accurate and reliable as an industrial meter.
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we (really) reinvented the Breathalyzer.
First technical challenge: One minute setup.
Industrial breathalyzers need about 1 minute to heat the sensor in order to accurately read the amount of alcohol. People will never use a key that takes one minute to work.
Solution: Hacking The alcohol sensor.
We learned that, when in contact with alcohol molecules, the resistance of the alcohol sensor behaves differently than expected. When the resistance of the sensor heats, the alcohol contamination makes it's temperature change faster. So, when someone blows into the Safe Key, rather than interpreting the exact level of alcohol, it analyzes how the sensor is behaving. And based on the characteristics of this behavior it is possible to tell in less than 1 second whether or not the sensor has been contaminated by alcohol molecules.
Second technical challenge: Sensor contamination.
The big issue was how to clean the sensor quickly and automatically. In a way which would not compromise subsequent key uses.
Solution: Self sterilization.
The solution was to use the heating of the sensor to burn up and evaporate the alcohol molecules. This process continues until the sensor no longer reads the presence of alcohol.
Third technical challenge: Battery consumption.
People will never use the key if they have to recharge it every day.
Solution: The driver's blowing turns the key on.
Almost all the components are in a constant deep sleep mode, consuming the equivalent of a few nano-amperes. Until it is woken by an air vibration sensor, that recognizes when someone is blowing (it can interpret a blow from regular noise vibration, based on the characteristics of each particular sound). Through this solution we can make a standard watch battery, fuel the key for about a year.
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Fiat Key Safe is also equipped with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. In the case of a red light, the driver receives automatically a push notification on his smartphone from the Safe Key App with a discount taxi voucher and sends an automatic text message to a pre-registered number, informing the location of the driver. The test-proofing of the concept shows that the product will work as planned.
We are now analysing the results and heading for the industrial production of the device in partnership with Mopar, the exclusive global source for original equipment parts and accessories of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The plan is, in the near future, make it available for consumers like any other Fiat accessory.
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Could someone else blow to unlock the Fiat Safe Key for a drunken friend? We know that this product alone will not solve the whole issue. But making people think twice has a great potential to save many lives.
credits
Fred Saldanha, Eduardo Battiston, Henrique Pecego, Tchuli, Steve Blask, Chico Adelano, Lucas Lourenço, Fabrício Lúcio, D3, Vetor Filmes.
