The Volkswagen Vento ‘Talking Newspaper ad‘ in today’s edition of Times of India newspaper managed to do more than raising some eyebrows of its readers. It actually scared quite a few of them. As soon as people turned to the last page of the newspaper, the ad would start talking by itself.
The ad first appeared in Chennai edition of The Hindu newspaper yesterday and all major editions of Times of India today. I am not sure if this is the first time such a technology was used, but they are claiming it’s the global first of sorts.
Suhel Banerjee has captured the video of this ad
Technology behind Volkswagen Talking (audio) newspaper ad
It is a simple technology put into great use by Volkswagen. They are making use of a PhotoDiode, which is a type of photodetector capable of converting light into either current or voltage, depending upon the mode of operation.
The light-sensitive speaker weighs no more than 10-15 grams and continuously belts out the below lines in loop
Best in class German engineering is here. The new Volkswagen Vento. Built with great care and highly innovative features. Perhaps that’s why it breaks the hearts of our engineers to watch it drive away.
The new Volkswagen Vento. Crafted with so much passion, it’s hard to let it go.
Volkswagen. Das Auto.
The innovative technology comes at a time when newspapers across the world are fighting against the odds to survive and beat the competition of web technology.
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