# Winged Rodent Translators The Bat Billboard Transliterates Bat Talk in Real Time By Amelia Roblin | Published 2011-08-11 | Eco Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bat-billboard References: [dontpaniconline](http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/technology/bat-interpreting-billboard) & [woebken.net](http://www.woebken.net/bat_billboard.html) New York bats are currently being threatened with White Nosed Syndrome, which has inspired the creation of the Bat [Billboard](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/vollebak-mars-billboard) by Chris Woebken and Natalie Jeremijenko. Essentially, this [large scale outdoor advertisement](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/endangered-species-series) has been built to double as a cozy roost for the creatures, continually communicating the status of its inhabitants in text form. The concept may seem strange at first, but this project aims to initiate a sort of conversation between the nocturnal winged mammals and humans as a way to raise awareness and incite compassion in light of the environmental crisis. The designers have constructed a hi-tech system by which the bats' high-pitched clicks are translated into written English on the digitally illuminated ad. Live noises are picked up within the Bat Billboard, cross-referenced with known sounds from previous Bat Library recordings and transmitted for people to appreciate. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.0/10 - Popularity: 47% | Activity: 36% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 70% men, 30% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Eco](https://www.trendhunter.com/eco) ## Key Themes ### What Makes This Trend Stand Out - **Eco-communication:** Developing technology to facilitate communication between humans and animals for environmental awareness and preservation. - **Animal-driven Design:** Designing products and infrastructure that appeal to and benefit animals for urban cohabitation. - **Sound-to-text Translation:** Creating systems to convert animal vocalizations to written language for human understanding and interaction. ### Sectors Adopting This - **Advertising:** Integrating animal-friendly design into outdoor advertising as a means to enhance advertising and give back to the environment. - **Ecology:** Partnering with biologists to design nature-inspired systems that aid human understanding of ecological systems. - **Corporate Social Responsibility:** Including animal welfare and environmental impacts in corporate social responsibility initiatives as part of a holistic approach to sustainability. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Bat-Friendly Forested Watchtowers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/watchtower-einderheide.md) - [Birdhouse-Integrated Address Signs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/our-common-house.md) - [Bird-Inspired Speaker Designs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/birdinspired-speaker.md) - [Nature-Shared A-Frame Homes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kumiki-architects.md) - [Billboard-Transformed Tent Shelters](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/lifesaving-outdoors.md) - [Stealthy Smart Garden Systems](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wonder-block.md) - [Smart Nature Observatories](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/smart-nature-observatory.md) - [Bioacoustics Products](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/haiku-box.md) - [Bird-Diverting Robotic Systems](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/robotic-system.md)