`` Google Maps has become a platform that is no longer suitable for education, '' the university professor accused



Professor Alex

Wellerstein, who is studying the history of nuclear weapons at Stevens Institute of Technology, explains how ' NUKEMAP ' once published on Google Maps has been ported to Mapbox , an online custom map.

Why NUKEMAP isn't on Google Maps anymore | Restricted Data
http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2019/12/13/why-nukemap-isnt-on-google-maps-anymore/



“NUKEMAP”, developed by Wellerstein in 2012, is a simulator that can visualize the number of casualties and the range of effects of radioactive pollutants when a nuclear weapon is dropped anywhere on the map. You can see how it is actually used in one shot by reading the following article.

`` NUKEMAP '' that can simulate casualties and contamination range when a nuclear bomb is dropped-GIGAZINE



`` NUKEMAP '' created with Google Maps API not only received a response as `` a million bombs are dropped '' within a month after it was released in February 2012, but it Since then, it has been used at a rate of about 200,000 times a month, which has helped understand the threat of nuclear weapons. Wellerstein said the first reason for choosing Google Maps was “It was a useful and amazing tool with a vibrant community that was free to use and regularly created new features”.

Since 2016, Google has started to charge a map usage fee, but the fee is not so high as about 200 dollars a month (about 22,000 yen), and the expenses are borne by Thieves Institute of Technology So Wellerstein continued to develop “NUKEMAP” using Google Maps. However, in 2018, the price soared from $ 200 to $ 1800 (about 200,000 yen), and Wellerstein became hesitant to pay. Because the usage fee increased so rapidly, Mr. Wellerstein contacted Google and found that the price list was revised without knowing it. Even when Wellerstein negotiated the price, Google's response was that it was a little bit.

Wellerstein managed to find a way to maintain “NUKEMAP”, but considered using Google ’s “ Nonprofit Program ”, but because it was not a “school, educational institution, or university,” The program could not be used.



Educational institutions are excluded from the scope of Google ’s non-profit program because there is another program called

G Suite for Education, which provides Google services for educational institutions free of charge. In order to use it, I had to apply as a representative of the university, and it was hopeless that “NUKEMAP”, a project that Wellerstein had continued before becoming a professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, was covered. Regarding the usability of this system, social news site Hacker News said , “There are a large number of development projects in the university, which are often run without the involvement of the university's IT department. against, because I apply on behalf of the entire university, one company of the foreign is like to expect to by purchasing a software license of involving the entire government, 'said the post , it has earned a multiple of approval .



Wellerstein said, “Google is not able to distinguish between a university as a university and a researcher at a university, but there are significant differences in terms of scale, goals, and so on. `` I don't want to worry if my work is recognized as `` contributing to the public interest '' by Google, '' he explained, and finally explained why he gave up using Google Maps. did.

Wellerstein, who gave up using Google Maps, decided to restart NUKEMAP instead by combining Mapbox with

Leaflet , an open source Javascript library. Some of the features that rely on Google Maps API is transplantation was difficult, that the prospect of the resolution stands. According to Wellerstein, “Mapbox support is the exact opposite of Google in all respects.”

NUKEMAP by Alex Wellerstein
https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/



Wellerstein said, “Nukemap has been fully functional even after it has been ported to Mapbox. Other features will be added soon,” and willingness to continue development in the future. It was.

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