Man tricks Google Maps into showing traffic on empty roads: See how

guest · Feb 3, 2020

Man tricks Google Maps into showing traffic on empty roads: See how
Google Maps' real-time traffic feature was tricked by a man pulling 99 phones in a cart
February 3, 2020
https://www.ibtimes.co.in/man-tricks-google-maps-into-showing-traffic-empty-roads-see-how-812693

Using Google Maps to get real-time traffic updates is one of the best features we can have, but a simple hack was used to trick Google Maps' nifty feature.
How Google identifies traffic?
Google constantly collects information from all Android devices, which also helps in predicting traffic. Google uses AI to show real-time traffic on a particular road or street by checking the number of Android devices on that route.
Tricking Google Maps' coveted feature
A Berlin-based artist Simon Weckert manipulated Google Maps to show heavy traffic on empty streets and roads. How did he do it? Weckert put smartphones in a cart and slowly pulled them along the streets and roads. Google Maps did what it does to identify traffic and interpreted it as traffic congestion.

Weckert experiment video showed how easily Google Maps was tricked. Google hasn't commented on it yet, but this harmless prank could be exploited by others with the right resources.
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Simon Weckert - Google Maps Hacks

" 99 second hand smartphones are transported in a handcart to generate virtual traffic jam in Google Maps.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. " #googlemapshacks
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Be_Ta · Feb 3, 2020

hehe.. Very nice

guest · Feb 3, 2020

[Update: Google responds] Google Maps ‘hack’ uses 99 smartphones to create virtual traffic jams
February 3, 2020
https://9to5google.com/2020/02/03/google-maps-hack-virtual-traffic-jam/

Update 2/3: Speaking with 9to5Google, a spokesperson from Google has responded to this situation to clarify a few things. In normal usage, Google does use a large number of devices running Maps in a single place as proof of a traffic jam, something this rare and very specific case took advantage of. In the statement below, though, the company does hint that it might use cases like this to further improve how Maps handles traffic data.

Whether via car or cart or camel, we love seeing creative uses of Google Maps as it helps us make maps work better over time.

Google also mentions that its systems are continuously refreshed from a variety of sources and that it’s committed to providing the most comprehensive and accurate maps possible. The company also highlights, somewhat jovially, how it can distinguish between cars and motorcycles in some regions, but it hasn’t cracked wagons just yet.
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guest · Feb 4, 2020

mood said: ↑

[Update: Google responds] Google Maps ‘hack’ uses 99 smartphones to create virtual traffic jams
February 3, 2020
https://9to5google.com/2020/02/03/google-maps-hack-virtual-traffic-jam/
Click to expand...

Updated (February 4, 2020):

Update 2/4: In an interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine, Simon Weckert spoke up regarding how this was accomplished. He explains that each of the 99 borrowed smartphones had their own active SIM card and that each device did indeed have Google Maps navigation running.

In testing this method out, Weckert found that if he stopped, Google Maps wasn’t affected, so movement was always needed. To get a traffic jam to show, they often had to bring the cart up and down the same street. Interestingly, when another vehicle drove past using Maps, Google’s system recognized there was no traffic jam and set the street back to normal. [...]
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