UK group damages hundreds of smart traffic lights

A group calling itself the blade runners has damaged hundreds of smart traffic lights in the United Kingdom, ERR reported in a technology commentary by Kristjan Port.

The group’s actions have prompted debate over whether its members are vandals or activists opposing technologies they believe monitor and manipulate the public.

The Guardian described one incident involving an older woman who climbed a ladder with bolt cutters and tried to cut a cable above a traffic light. An older man held the ladder while carrying a takeaway coffee from a pub. Police arrested both people and drew up reports for vandalism and endangering traffic.

Smart traffic lights use devices that detect people and vehicles and analyse their movements to manage traffic flows. Unlike cameras, the technology described in the article does not photograph people or vehicle registration plates. It measures only how many people or vehicles are moving near the lights.

The technology is based on a phased-array transmitter and antenna, a radar-like system that has been used in civilian and military applications for at least half a century. It can detect multiple fast-moving objects without physically moving the antenna.

Authorities have explained how the sensors work, including the features that prevent them from collecting details about people or vehicles. However, the explanations have not stopped fears that surveillance and military technology could be used to control the population.