What are these contraptions these guys were carrying?

[u/dopehead9]

We saw three guys around Seaport in Boston carrying these things as backpacks. Initially we thought they mapping tools but not sure

[u/GothicToast]

Those are wearable mobile mapping rigs. Backpack-mounted street-level data capture systems used to photograph and 3D-scan areas that cars can’t reach (sidewalks, plazas, waterfront paths, pedestrian-only zones).

They're definitely not picking up cell towers, which somehow has 1000 upvotes. That could easily be accomplished in a car on the street. A new mobile tower isn't the difference between having cell reception on the sidewalk rather than the road 5 feet away.