London’s Piccadilly Lights have been switched back on with the new ability to respond to the surroundings following a nine-month refurbishment.
The original Piccadilly Circus patchwork of screens has been replaced with a single 780 metre square 4K LED digital screen and live technology hub.
The technology uses cameras that are able to detect car models and can pre-progamme specific adverts to automatically trigger when certain vehicles pass by.
It also collects information on external factors such as the weather, allowing brands to adapt their advertising to the conditions, for example switching to winter clothes if the temperature drops below a certain level.
The new boards will also provide free wi-fi to the area.
Landsec, the owner of Piccadilly Lights, said the technology did not collect or store any personal data, was unable to record images or audio and could not recognise individuals.
A colourful light display sponsored by members of the public as part of a fundraising campaign for the charity Barnardo’s were the first images to appear on the new screen.
The advertising screens went live on Thursday morning (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
An estimated 100 million people pass through Piccadilly Circus every year, making it one of the world’s prime advertising spaces.
A single brand will take over the screen every 10 minutes for a 30 second ad, with Coca-Cola, Samsung, Hyundai, L’Oreal Paris, eBay, Hunter and Stella McCartney already using the space.
Landsec portfolio director Vasiliki Arvaniti said: “The Piccadilly Lights have been one of London’s icons for over a century, and are an unmissable sight for the 100 million people who pass through Piccadilly Circus every year.
“We know people have really missed the screen while renovation work has been carried out and both we, and the brands that light up the screen, are incredibly excited to have switched the lights back on today.”