Hacking the traffic lights

[anhinga_anhinga]

"The device, called an Opticon, is similar to what firefighters use to change lights when they respond to emergencies. It emits an infrared pulse that receivers on the traffic lights pick up."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/18/traffic.changer.ap/index.html

"LONGMONT, Colorado (AP) -- A man who said he bought a device that allowed him to change stop lights from red to green received a $50 ticket for suspicion of interfering with a traffic signal.

Jason Niccum of Longmont, Colorado, said the device, which he bought on eBay for $100, helped him cut his time driving to work."

"Niccum was issued a citation March 29 after police said they found him using a strobe-like device to change traffic signals. Police confiscated the device."

"Niccum was cited after city traffic engineers who noticed repeated traffic light disruptions at certain intersections spotted a white Ford pickup passing by whenever the patterns were disrupted.

City traffic engineer Joe Olson said engineers plan to update the city's Opticon system this year to block unauthorized light-changing signals."

Comments

[spamsink.livejournal.com]

There was a mention of it on local news a few years ago, and the response to the agitated readers/listeners was that interfering with a traffic signal was already illegal, there are several different systems, and there is no use buying them and not much worry that some will benefit much from them.

[ge-m.livejournal.com]

I was also impressed when noticed this today in the news. I did not even know it works this way for the firefighters.

[anhinga-anhinga.livejournal.com]

I wonder if this depends on the city/state. I never noticed our emergency services changing the lights..

[ge-m.livejournal.com]

I never saw it here too. But ironically I saw this happening in Keene, NH where at that time were about 10 street lights for the whole town. They did not change these lights, but they switched on the sirens and turned on special red lights on the single town's rotary. It was famous local traffic disruption!

But I am pretty sure they did not use any Opticon-type devices there...

[http://users.livejournal.com/_rowan_tree_/]

I did. At the corner of Columbia and Mass. Ave ;-)

[anhinga-anhinga.livejournal.com]

They have a fire station there, so they probably can operate the lights at that crossing from the inside of that building..

[http://users.livejournal.com/_rowan_tree_/]

Possibly. Now let's change the lights, lock the building, and lose the keys! :-))

[aquercus.livejournal.com]

какой простор для злоупотреблений..а началось всё с пожарников. Им-то зачем переключать..? не понимаю.

[cema.livejournal.com]

I was more impressed with the way he was caught.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_rowan_tree_/]

Hmmm... A simple handshake protocol? I listned to the talk of Frank Pfenning yesterday (over video-conferencing), at CMU they use smart phone to open doors, buy stuff from vending machines, etc. He was presenting the logical verification system for that - to make sure that people don't access stuff they aren't supposed to.