Updated February 4th, 2020 at 13:59 IST
Artist 'fools' Google Maps, creates virtual traffic jam on empty streets
A performance artist, Simon Weckert hacked Google Maps to create a fake traffic jam by carrying 99 smartphones in a tiny red wagon on the streets of Berlin.
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A performance artist hacked Google Maps to create a fake traffic jam by carrying 99 smartphones in a tiny red wagon on the streets of Berlin. Simon Weckert posted a video on YouTube on February 1 which simultaneously showed him walking on empty streets including outside Google office with just his wagon while the Google Maps started showing 'virtual traffic jams'.
It was the smartphones that reportedly 'fooled' the AI of the Google Maps which believed there was a high concentration of users on the streets. Moreover, according to media reports, since Weckert majorly carried borrowed old phones in the cart, Google got tricked into believing that the traffic was slow-moving, turning green routes on the software to red.
Weckert's video on Youtube has received nearly two million views and said that this activity can have an impact on the physical world 'by navigating cars to another route to avoid being stuck in traffic'. With geo tools, the Google Maps have created a software that allows users to navigate through various roads around the world, however, reportedly a senior software engineer who works for Google Maps said that he knows 'a bit' about how Weckert's trick worked.
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Netizens 'love it'
Intrigued, internet users started sharing how Weckert 'hacked' Google Maps on various social media platforms. One of the internet users also confessed to have never thought about such a possibility because he had always related traffic jams to cameras on roads. However, the performance artists blew his mind. Some of the Twitter users also called it a 'good warning' to the humans who are blindly relying on technology.
chuckle this is funny.
— Beth (@b312285)
and a dang good warning about us relying too much on technology.
reminds me of the stories that came out of California during the wildfires: phone maps would direct people to streets that were empty...because they were engulfed in flames, hence no cars or phone signals. 😮
— Kevin Delgado (@kdel_kevin)
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For some reason I love this!
— Shelley Kentner (@AlconaShell)
I feel like an idiot but is this how Google maps works out traffic density - by correlating it to number of phone signals? I always thought it was something to do with traffic cameras, but even while typing that I've realised that I've never actually thought about it!
— Jude Gibbons (@judeGibbons)
Interesting story....
— nodlimax (@nodlimax)
And I actually learned how Google Maps gathers information on traffic. Did not know that. But when I think about it, it actually makes sense....in a scary kind of way...
Sounds like a great way to do path optimization. Find the shortest route, spoof Geolocation along that route, all cars are diverted and you now have a clear path to your destination.
— NINK (@NINK)
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Published February 4th, 2020 at 13:59 IST