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DRUG SCANNING APP PILL-ID AIMS TO IDENTIFY THE RISKS OF MDMA PILLS

Designed in collaboration with Rehab and Herezie, the app allows people to scan
recreational drugs (specifically MDMA) and identify pills.

By Henry Wong June 8, 2021 8:00 am June 8, 2021 8:51 am

Digital design studio Rehab and French ad agency Herezie have collaborated on
Pill-iD, an app which allows people to scan MDMA-based drugs through their phone
and identify potential risks.

According to Rehab CEO Rob Bennett, the app’s development was timely given the
planned opening of UK clubs and festivals in June.

“Our assumption is that drug use will continue to happen and we wanted to show
how technology could help people make the right decisions for them,” he adds.



ONS data shows that drug taking maintains high levels in the UK, with around 1.3
million adults aged between 16-59 using a class A drug (MDMA’s classification)
last year. This gave Rehab and Herezie the idea to harness technical
advancements in both mobile technology and also AI.

Bennett points to a recent Google project which allowed people to identify
almost 300 skin conditions using a phone camera thanks to AI-driven datasets.

Pill-iD is the latest project to emerge from By The Network, a cross-agency
network which delivers briefs across multiple disciplines.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





“EDUCATIONAL, FACTUAL AND UNBIASED”




To use the app, people simply take a photo of the pill or upload an existing
picture. The app’s machine learning foundation – Google technology TensorFlow.js
– then attempts to identify pills by searching French narcotics database,
Nuit-Blanche.

Results highlight the accuracy of identification, potential side effects and
guidelines around dosage. Pill-iD targets MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, which
often comes available in branded pill form.

These pills often have a distinct shape or colour, which can be used as
identifiers. However, as Nuit-Blanche and Rehab make clear, completely accurate
identification and therefore safety cannot be guaranteed.



The app has been designed to be “educational, factual and unbiased” and not in
any way “focused on entertainment”, says Bennett. It also seeks to avoid any
encouraging or patronising language. There were three main principles, according
to the designer.

Navigation had to be “clear and simple”, he says. “Our audience may be
intoxicated at the moment they engage with the experience,” Bennett adds.

The information provided to users also had to be direct, specifically around
drug type and its level of danger. Content from Nuit-Blanche has been
prioritised according to these needs.

The app also had to be accessible. “Taking a photo of a drug in public may be
difficult to do discreetly and effectively, so we ensured a photo could be
uploaded from a user’s photo library as well,” he adds. All information and
photos uploaded are anonymous, according to Rehab.

Another key aspect for the design was the “need for trust”. “It needs to look
and feel trustworthy,” Bennett adds. “We have assumed a broadly younger,
digitally native audience and the design reflects this.”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





A CONVERSATION STARTER ABOUT DRUG DATABASES




There are of course limitations to the technology. “It doesn’t and can’t analyse
the chemicals within each individual pill that you photograph,” Bennett says.
“No technology can do that from an image.”

He adds: “We are very explicit in saying that accuracy cannot be guaranteed
because the only way to guarantee safety – regardless of technology – is by not
taking a pill in the first place.”

While the app is currently a working prototype, a full launch is set for this
winter. Bennett says this time will be crucial in developing database accuracy
and potentially including “different types of pill and more imagery”.

The studio is also looking at how the app could access different datasets
according to country, though Bennett believes there is no single global database
as of yet.

Longer term ambitions for the app could be to integrate with health
organisations and public health services like Talk to Frank, according to
Bennett.

“The aspiration for the Pill-iD prototype is to see it used as a catalyst to
start a central, global drugs information database of some description, that is
entirely factual, rather than informed by politics of opinion,” he adds.

Bennett says: “As the world moves ever closer (digitally, at least), we feel
that the implication and impact this sort of dataset could have is well worth
exploring.”

You can find out more information on Pill-iD’s website. 

7-13 June 2021 News Interactive



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THIS ONLINE PLATFORM IS DESIGNED TO LET YOU IMAGINE THE FUTURE OF LONDON

Hide Comments (1)Show Comments (1)
Comments
 * Ross Tunnicliffe November 25, 2021 at 2:10 pm
   
   Now if only all chemicals were legal and we could give access to the public
   safe, clean, and pure substances to whoever wishes to use them instead of
   criminals who continue to make money. I am a 2nd year Bachelor Degree
   Chemistry Student and an Elder and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of
   Latter-Day Saints and plan on getting a masters in drug discovery (and a
   Ph.D. in pharmacognosy if I get the time) so I would rather just the
   libertarian view and being a libertarian also and hoping you all just want to
   see any end to this madness, can we not all just focus on getting drugs to no
   longer be produced by criminals to make money which makes the government
   money so why not just make it legal and the crooks inside and out will be
   gone? Hope this helps make more of you make better decisions and want what I
   want. I hope more people want peace and happiness because I sure do. V & <3
   God bless
   
   Reply
   
 * Post a comment
   Name
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