There is that one moment in everyday life that often goes unnoticed: ignition on, and off you go. In heavy-duty transport, however, this is a critical moment, as both the risk and the potential damage are significantly higher than in many other areas.
This inevitably leads to an important question: How can we ensure that only drivers who are fit to drive are actually able to start the vehicle? The answer: a breath alcohol measuring device with an integrated ignition interlock. More precisely, a system that prevents the engine from starting if a defined blood alcohol limit is exceeded. At the core of the system are a handheld unit for the breath sample and a control unit directly connected to the ignition.
What makes this particularly interesting for us is not only the technology itself, but the context: the transition from medical technology to the automotive world. And with that, expectations change instantly – especially when it comes to regulations, verification, and processes that are part of everyday business in the automotive industry. For us, that’s not a problem.
We support our customers with technical expertise and a deep understanding of how the automotive industry “ticks”, including the specific standards and procedures that can ultimately determine approval and market access.
Anyone who has ever tried to introduce a safety-relevant system into a regulated market knows this: it’s not just about functionality, but about proving compliance with all requirements. In Germany, alcohol interlocks are subject to a clearly defined legal framework – ranging from approval of the ignition interlock (e.g. § 31a StVZO), pilot projects (e.g. § 72a StVG), to regulations within the Driving Licence Ordinance and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Our role? We review IMDS documentation (International Material Data System) as well as the associated material data sheets for completeness and plausibility, based on current legal requirements. In the automotive industry, this documentation is a key quality criterion and can determine whether a product is approved for use in a vehicle at all. This is our area of expertise.
And then comes the part where engineering becomes tangible: testing under controlled conditions – before costs escalate. The breath alcohol measuring device with integrated ignition interlock was successfully integrated into the HiL test bench, its functionality verified, and initial tests carried out. The system communicates reliably with the existing HiL environment and processes signals in a stable manner.
The real benefit: connecting the system to HiL enables entirely new test scenarios. For example, interaction with vehicle-related functions can be analyzed in much greater detail.
“By connecting the alcohol tester to the HiL test bench, we were able to validate its core functions under controlled laboratory conditions. The integration allows us to develop additional test scenarios and to analyze the interaction with vehicle-related functions in much greater detail,” explains a Bertrandt expert.
For customers, our support in this area means one thing above all: entering a new industry faster and more safely, without getting lost in complex requirements. By reviewing IMDS and material data and validating them against defined specifications, the product’s approval capability is strengthened, making it more predictable whether and how it can be used in a vehicle.
At the same time, the solution is designed for real-world operation. The system is intended to document manipulation attempts and securely store relevant data in encrypted form, increasing reliability in use. In addition, it can help companies better meet their occupational safety obligations and operate more cost-effectively by reducing accidents and downtime.
The breath alcohol measuring device is just one example of many industry transitions and system innovations: products that already “work” in one environment but must prove themselves in a market where verification, data quality, and test reliability make the difference. This exact combination of automotive regulatory expertise, documentation reliability (IMDS), and HiL validation can be applied wherever systems need to be integrated into complex environments in a safe, transparent, and robust manner.
In short: not every innovation fails because of the idea. Many fail during the transfer into reality – or into a different industry. But not with us.
