The Contraptions Are Here

By W. F. Twyman, Jr.

As I was walking towards the San Diego harbor during lunch, it was a normal day although not 72 and sunny. It was actually in the 80s, which caused slight distress for us San Diegans. I walked along my normal path towards the anchored ships at the harbor. All of a sudden, I saw something out of the ordinary. There was a startle reflex. You expect A and encounter B. What I saw before me I had never seen before.

I saw a young man with what looked like a camera atop a waymo taxi. The camera offered a 360-degree view and sat about two feet above his head. The camera system was attached to a backpack emblazoned with the word “MAPS.” It was the oddest thing to behold on the street. He passed me by and did not look up at all. He was engrossed in his cell phone. I had to take a picture.

After crossing the street, he returned in my direction. This time I was determined to take a clear frontal shot. I stood behind a palm tree and pretended to look at a dark-skinned homeless woman. My ruse did not work as the techno-equipped guy turned left before passing me. All in all, it was a strange appearance of the future on my otherwise normal walk.

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What I witnessed was a young person collecting data for Apple’s Look Around feature. The idea is to collect interactive, street-level panoramic images for the company’s map service. I guess I became part of the high-resolution details during my walk. From Apple’s way of thinking, the idea is to capture images of areas that are otherwise inaccessible.

So, the backpack-mounted camera was not some back-to-the-future contraption so much as a lightweight, man-portable rig built for outdoor surveying.

It was a strange sight to behold on my walk. That is all I can say.