“On August 5, Matherly showed off a map he made of every phone, computer, smart home, connected cow, and Internet of Things device around the globe.
To make the map, Matherly sent out Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Echo requests to some four billion devices connected to the internet, Matherly tells Inverse. Devices that are online responded, pinging back the signal and allowing Matherly to stick them on the map. It’s similar to the pings that are used for internet speed tests, and can operate essentially as a ‘can you hear me now’ function for the connected devices.”
Source: See Every Internet Connection in the World on One Giant Map | Inverse
