Wir fahr’n fahr’n fahr’n auf der Autobahn
Over the years, I have had many conversations with developers and consultants from all over the world about Aquaforest’s PDF & OCR technology. Naturally, the mainstay of these discussions has been focussed on document processing, OCR conversion and optimising performance. However, there is one question that pops up on a regular basis to which you will not find an answer on the forums or in the FAQ.
“Where did Autobahn DX get its name?”
When I first joined Aquaforest back in 2006 and started my product training my thoughts immediately turned to Kraftwerk’s 1974 Autobahn single which for those of you that may remember was a staggering 22 minutes long. Kraftwerk inspired a generation with their futuristic electronic music stemmed in technology and in fact, nearly 40 years on they are largely credited for being pioneers in electronic music and for prophesising a world controlled by technology similar to the one we live in today!
A loose and tenuous link you may proffer but I like it!
However when a good chap from the Netherlands asked me recently where Autobahn got its name and whether we were a German software company, I decided to embark on a journey to uncover the real influence behind Autobahn DX. I asked my boss of 7 years Neil Pitman, founder of Aquaforest, CTO and Patti Smith fan, what inspired him to use the name ‘Autobahn’.
“Actually, in a way the software was inspired by Kraftwerk’s Autobahn as we wanted to convey a sense of ‘no limits’, speed and streamlined performance, much like the German autobahns. The –DX was added afterwards as we wanted to give it a unique handle, and the DX allowed the software to be picked up in search engines”
In all fairness, this is a pretty good analogy as Aquaforest’s Autobahn DX software is comparable to the legendary German autobahns – fast, well-constructed and allows for powerful driving!
So there you have it, I can honestly proclaim that Aquaforest’s Autobahn DX software was inspired by the German masters of electro-pop.
Thanks Kraftwerk!