Smart straw to detect rape drugs

May 18, 2019

Three young Americans have developed a smart straw capable of detecting whether a drug used for rape has been incorporated into a glass.

There is no age to invent. This could undoubtedly be the lesson to learn from the project initiated by three American high school girls. Susana Cappello, Victoria Roca and Carolina Baigorri, three young high school girls in Miami have invented a straw that can detect if a dangerous substance has been added to a glass. Aged 17, they imagined the concept in a course on entrepreneurship.

Smart straw straws drug

In the United States, three young high school girls have created an anti-rape straw. The use is simple: once introduced into any drink, it changes color when in contact with a drug called “the rapist”.

While the cases of sexual assault and rape still pollute the life of American campuses, this is a project that gives hope. Smart Straws, this smart straw turns blue if a drug is added in a beverage it is alcoholic or not. Among the substances that will be automatically detected include rohypnol, ketamine or GHB. If one of them is present, the straw becomes blue. These drugs, which are often odorless, colorless and tasteless, are a real danger for young people, especially young women’s college students. Originally, they thought to integrate it to a jewel but the scientific departments of their school told them that the solution would be complicated to set up. They then looked for an alternative and the straw quickly became obvious.

The three students, Susana Cappello, Carolina Baigorri and Victoria Roca, had this idea during an entrepreneurship course, and they intend to carry it through to the end. They are currently filing the patent for this product and have launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance its production. Even though the foundresses are aware that this straw is not a solution against rape, they recall that it is intended to prevent the risk: “This will not end the rapes but we hope to succeed in reducing the number of dangerous situations in which you can find yourself because of these drugs. “

Connected objects against rape

It is far from being the first connected object imagined to detect the drugs of rape. We talked about the subject on nails connected with Undercover Colors. The real-time analysis capability of the sensors represents a real potential in terms of safety. However, most projects seem to have difficulty moving from the prototype stage to the market. It is difficult to know if it is enough for an absence of conviction on the part of the investors or the real feasibility of an object of this type. The solution could perhaps be based more on warning systems such as Athena that alerts relatives immediately in case of aggression. These, however, assume that the victim is able to react, which is not necessarily always the case.