Scientific American Exclusive: DARPA Memex Data Maps
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a new set of search tools called Memex that peer into the “deep Web” to reveal human trafficking and other illegal activity. For the full story, see: Human Traffickers Caught on Hidden Internet
Scientific American Exclusive: DARPA Memex Data Maps
- Mapping Your Search Path The “Data Wake Viewer” map shown here enables a user to visualize their Internet search path as depicted by the larger, connected blue nodes. The smaller nodes represent unexplored links on a user's browse path. The user creates a “wake” of information as they trail into the Internet. These nodes are shaded from cool [green] to hot [red] to represent the amount of content they share with previously visited sites, allowing a user to prioritize which sites to visit next. Courtesy of DARPA
- Shared E-mail Addresses, Phone Numbers The central MEMEX graphic depicts three groups of advertisements that are connected by shared e-mail addresses or phone numbers. The three surrounding tiles display more specific information about the central group in purple. Upper Right: Where the advertisements have been placed over time. Bottom Right: Posting locations on a map. Bottom Left: The basic details of each advertisement in the group. Courtesy of DARPA
- Connecting the Dots The network map depicted here is an alternative visualization to the ad-based grouping in the bubble map. In this case, the map is created by breaking apart ad content—including phone numbers, email addresses and ad titles—and individually mapping the attributes outside of their association with individual ads. The colored dots represent ads from different Web pages, and the pale blue dots represent attributes, such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Courtesy of DARPA
- Public Advertisements for Adult Services The MEMEX bubble map shows the volume of online advertisements for sex by location—the larger the bubble, the more ads—at any given time. A user can navigate around the world to see results, and a slider at the bottom adjusts the desired timeframe (within the time MEMEX began indexing the advertisements). Courtesy of DARPA
