This Special Volkswagen Badge Keeps Kangaroos Away

Volkswagen RooBadge

VW swears this isn’t an early April Fools’ Day joke.

Although April 1 is right around the corner, the RooBadge is as real as it gets. While modern car badges incorporate all sorts of radars and sensors, this Volkswagen logo is different. It has built-in directional speakers that emit a carefully selected beam of sound to keep kangaroos away. It serves as an audio-based deterrent and it’s being developed for all vehicles, not just VWs.

As you might have guess, the RooBadge (“Roo” is the shortened form of “kangaroo” in Australian English) has been developed Down Under. VW joined forces with kangaroo behaviorists from the University of Melbourne to learn more about the cute mammal belonging to the marsupial family. Australian wildlife rescue organization Wires is lending a helping hand by providing real-time data about where kangaroos are located throughout the continent.

Developed in three years, RooBadge will work with a dedicated app inside the vehicle that will use GPS and telemetry data. It’ll automatically emit sounds through kangaroo collision hotspots. On the Amarok, it’s going to be offered as a plug & play solution by replacing the original badge with the high-tech VW logo.

Despite the bad timing, this seems too elaborate to be just a prank. VW says it’s already talking with partners from Europe and the United States to make RooBadge a deterrent for other animals.

VW Logo Over The Years:

Source: Volkswagen