Man Wearing Apple Maps Backpack Surveying San Francisco on Foot

[Superhai]

I was just thinking. How can I get a job like that? And since it's Apple I'm sure it pays well. What would suck is having people come up to asking you questions.

I guess Apple use their own employees for this. But Google Maps still have the "Street View Loan Program" which they started in 2013 I believe, there is not much payment to expect, but you get to go around looking awkward with a 20 kg backpack. The link is g.co/StreetViewLoans

 

[alphaod]

Google offers this to people to borrow if they are hiking trails and stuff and willing to volunteer.

 

[swingerofbirch]

Looks like something Kramer from Seinfeld would come up with.

"Oh, I don't believe this."

"Jerry, don't you get it? I'm going to remap the entire United States on foot. It's how Magellan did it!"

"He was on a ship. And he died."

(Kramer spazes and sputters.)

 

[alex2792]

Introducing the iHobo.

 

[groovyd]

That thing looks pretty heavy.

made of pure graphene... oh and sapphire

 

[dogslobber]

Looks like a Ghostbuster.

 

[cote32mt]

Come on - does anyone seriously think Apple would have people so prominently on the street doing this??

 

[imageWIS]

I can smell the urine from here (and before the mods delete my post: there are signs all over SF from the city gov telling people not to urinate on the street, so it's not like I'm making it up).

 

[davester]

He botnapped ED209!!

 

[tl01]

Don’t step in the poop. Maybe this is for a new app to show where the San Fran poop is at!

 

[DocMultimedia]

I know every company thinks they need their own data for everything, but I really wish they could all share this stuff so we'd get great maps wherever we go.

Feel free to slap logos of the main company that grabbed data in certain areas. Just give me a good map.

 

[tennisproha]

Or some creeper that just put 'Apple maps' on his weird backpack.

Probably his Halloween costume!

 

[Tech198]

That thing looks pretty heavy.

At least he's getting good exercise.. No more working out for him.

 

[acorntoy]

In the photo, I don't see any needles or human waste. Glad the streets are all cleaned up.

We don’t know what was in that tied up bag.....

 

[nostresshere]

Like most employees these days - he appears to be using his phone on company time. Facebook, texting, email, etc.

 

[Feenician]

Come on - does anyone seriously think Apple would have people so prominently on the street doing this??

Not sure if they had such prominent branding but Google not only sent employees out with similar equipment but you could actually apply to get a loan of these.

https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/google-trekker
https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/eco-tourism/stories/how-become-next-google-street-view-trekker

This stuff is necessary if you’re serious about mapping. Apple has gotten very serious about doing their own ground level mapping, instead of relying mainly on 3rd parties. That’s a good thing even if you use Google maps, because you can be sure that Google will double down seeing this.
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Like most employees these days - he appears to be using his phone on company time. Facebook, texting, email, etc.

Or, you know, using Maps to see what where’s supposed to be going today.

 

[InuNacho]

He better be careful that no one tries to rob him.

For reference, the parking garage he is next to has warning signs all over the place regarding car break ins, and he is a few blocks away from the good ole' Tenderloin. Keep it rocking Apple backpack guy.

 

[Shiro_Simba]

This sounds like an awesome job. Strap on a backpack and explore the city! This is something I like doing ANYWAY, being paid for it would be amazing.

I’ve recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, you sir should look into a job as a porter . FYI - it’s a terrible job, that backpack is not as light as your daypack, and you would be told where to go

 

[SeaFox]

That thing looks pretty heavy.

If Ive had designed it, it would have been much sleeker and lighter.

...he'd also run out of battery life after walking three blocks.

 

[gwaizai]

He looks lost. The guy making the map gets lost--like the geologist in the movie "Prometheus."

 

[Edsel]

Apple should just sign-on to EarthNow....
https://earthnow.com
Government has been doing real-time, high resolution, geosynchronous video feeds for a long time.

 

[JungleNYC]

Is he plotting out where all the human **** is on the sidewalks?

 

[tridley68]

Pretty cool job as long as the weather is nice.

 

[pedzsan]

How do you know he actually works for Apple? Just because it has an Apple logo doesn't mean he isn't a Russian Spy or maybe even a porn actor -- Debbie Does Digital

 

[emil]

One upside to capturing data whilst walking is camera angle will be more at eye-level than from a car. Could be nice.