This Man Created Traffic Jams on Google Maps Using a Red Wagon Full of Phones
This is really interesting. Imagine taking the long route to work because the map said there was traffic but it’s actually a guy with a wagon full of phones or maybe a bus filled with people.
Artist Simon Weckert walked the streets of Berlin tugging a red wagon behind him. Wherever he went, Google Maps showed a congested traffic jam. People using Google Maps would see a thick red line indicating congestion on the road, even when there was no traffic at all. Each and every one of those 99 phones had Google Maps open, giving the virtual illusion that the roads were jam packed.
“By transporting the smartphones in the street I’m able to generate virtual traffic which will navigate cars on another route,” Weckert told Motherboard in a Twitter DM. “Ironically that can generate a real traffic jam somewhere else in the city.”
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