Funny Stuff Caught on Google Maps
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Artist creates virtual traffic jam on Google Maps with 99 cellphones and a wagonNY Daily News ^ | February 4, 2020 | Joseph Wilkinson
Posted on 06/05/2022 4:44:47 PM PDT by DoodleBob
He was draggin' that wagon.
An artist created a virtual traffic jam in Berlin by pulling a wagon with 99 cellphones in it.
Simon Weckert posted a YouTube video with a split screen that showed him pulling a small red wagon through a mostly empty street. It also showed Google Maps had lit the street up red, falsely signifying that the barren thoroughfare was packed with traffic. <0p> "Through this activity, it is possible to turn a green street red which has an impact in the physical world by navigating cars on another route to avoid being stuck in traffic," read the video's description.
All 99 phones had their location services turned on, meaning they were sending data to Google.
That data didn't have to travel too far. According to the video, at one point Weckert pulled the wagon across the Ebertbrücke bridge over the Spree river in central Berlin — right past Google's offices.
A Google spokesperson told ABC News that while the company can distinguish between cars and motorcycles, it hasn't "quite cracked traveling by the wagon."
TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Humor; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: google; googlemaps; maps; technology
Two years ago, still epic.
1 posted on 06/05/2022 4:44:47 PM PDT by DoodleBob
To: DoodleBob
Initially, I wanted to call this silly. But no...I'm going with...kinda clever, interesting and funny.
2 posted on 06/05/2022 4:52:04 PM PDT by moovova
To: DoodleBob
I have a friend who thinks all of this high tech stuff is so great.
I would love to have someone pull this trick on him.
To: Presbyterian Reporter
The more advanced a technology is, the more susceptible it is to primitive attack.
4 posted on 06/05/2022 5:16:17 PM PDT by sloanrb
To: DoodleBob
Fascinating. Also might come in handy some day.
5 posted on 06/05/2022 5:16:59 PM PDT by PLMerite ("They say that we were Cold Warriors. Yes, and a bloody good show, too." - Robert Conquest )
To: DoodleBob
Wonderful way to educate the public about how are devices are tools used to control us.
6 posted on 06/05/2022 5:20:32 PM PDT by marktwain
To: DoodleBob
I would think the best programmatic solution to this problem would be to assume that all phones within four feet of each other must be in the same vehicle.
7 posted on 06/05/2022 5:40:23 PM PDT by proxy_user
To: DoodleBob
I still think Goolge/Waze has a boss mode.
I.e. someone of enough juice at one of these services causes the super computer to route people OFF the boss's route.
The roads open up, he gets there faster.
8 posted on 06/05/2022 5:41:35 PM PDT by Malsua
To: Travis McGee
9 posted on 06/05/2022 5:57:58 PM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
To: Malsua
Yes, there's definitely opportunities to abuse the system or to take advantage of it.
10 posted on 06/05/2022 5:59:51 PM PDT by Reno89519 (FJB. Respect America, Embrace America, Buy American, Hire American.)
To: DoodleBob
Google can "distinguish between cars and motorcycles." How the heck is that possible? Maybe they can see crotch rockets and donor cycles splitting lates at 100 mph or zipping back and forth across four lanes of near-standstill traffic. Or maybe they see the guy going from 100 mph to 0 mph in one second.
11 posted on 06/05/2022 6:02:19 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (Wanting to make America great isn't an insult unless you're trying to make it worse! ULTRAMAGA!!)
To: DoodleBob
We've got a secondary road one town over that gets LOTS of traffic off the interstate. When Waze shows the interstate is clogged up, they take the road through the small town which drives the residents absolutely nuts.
I'd bet all the residents along that road would take up a collection to buy 500 phones. Each resident could put one or two in their front yard. Waze would show red jammed-up traffic for miles and nobody would try to use that road anymore. At least until they caught on.
12 posted on 06/05/2022 6:05:48 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (Wanting to make America great isn't an insult unless you're trying to make it worse! ULTRAMAGA!!)
To: ProtectOurFreedom
Motorcycles vibrate far more, the onboard gyroscopes can detect that. Pretty simple.
13 posted on 06/05/2022 7:03:05 PM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
To: sloanrb
The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.
— Scotty, "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock"
14 posted on 06/05/2022 8:13:34 PM PDT by Flick Lives (The CDC. Brought to you by Pfizer)
To: DoodleBob
So wouldn't two Greyhound busses full of passengers create a "traffic jam"?
15 posted on 06/05/2022 9:42:01 PM PDT by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
To: ProtectOurFreedom
"We've got a secondary road one town over that gets LOTS of traffic off the interstate."
I live on a formally quiet street that get traffic diverted and would love to pull this stunt except most of the common "cut thru's" now know the area.
16 posted on 06/06/2022 3:07:12 AM PDT by shoff (Vote Democrat it beats thinking!)
To: DoodleBob
so the freedom convoy only needed one truck and a cargo of cell phones to make a difference in and around DC...
17 posted on 06/06/2022 1:43:09 PM PDT by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world or something )
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