Volkswagen's RooBadge aims to reduce car-kangaroo collisions in Australia
Volkswagen Australia cites data saying 90% of wildlife collisions in Australia involve some variety of kangaroo (yes, there's more than one kangaroo species). A 2018 story said the nationwide 'roo population had topped nearly 50 million animals, and as Aussie cities expand, the suburbs are moving further into kangaroo territory, increasing the number of annual incidents. Especially in rural areas, kangaroos will gather at the roadside starting around dusk to get to the water that pools by the roadway and the vegetation growing there because of that water; a single insurance firm, the National Roads and Motorists' Association, said it received 14,500 claims in 2018 just from car-kangaroo crashes. To reduce such events, Volkswagen Australia spent three years working on a project with its local ad agency DDB Sydney, kangaroo behavior specialists at the University of Melbourne, and wildlife organization WIRES to create a gadget that would protect drivers and animals: The RooBadge.
Developed using the Amarok pickup, the RooBadge is a VW grille emblem with an embedded, directional loudspeaker. But this isn't the wind-powered deer whistle still sold in some U.S. stores, this is powered by an app built into the vehicle's infotainment system. Different kangaroo species react to different sounds, so the project is starting with the Eastern Grey Kangaroo. Developers trialed collages of sound first on 'roos acclimatized to humans, like those that hang around golf courses, then on wild kangaroos in the hinterlands, using remotely monitored Amaroks fitted with motion sensors, 360-degree cameras, and directional speakers. The composite sounds include noises made by predators like dingos, the foot thumps kangaroos use to warn another, and bird alarm calls.
The directional speaker is powerful enough to project the noise down the road at a volume louder than an Amarok moving at 62 miles per hour, and at such a high frequency that humans can't hear it. Activation is automatic, the app using vehicle speed and vehicle GPS coordinates, plus GPS coordinates of known animal populations, to cue the speaker noises when appropriate. Using 'roo population data around the country, the plan
