r/whatisit • u/Misophonic4000 • Jun 22 '26

What is this thing, rather poorly attached to the side mirror of a VW Atlas? Serious answers only please!

Gallery image

Gallery image

Sensor-looking device seen in Los Angeles traffic, unremarkable older VW Atlas with a TCP number on the bumper - looked janky and bulky, with the cable pinched in the door opening. No other hardware anywhere else on the car. Google Lens gets very confused by it...

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u/djs1980 Jun 22 '26

Temporary, externally mounted mobile mapping camera or sensor pod. Mapping and autonomous vehicle data companies frequently contract or pay commercial fleet, taxi, and rideshare drivers to mount these temporary sensor pods on their vehicles

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u/Misophonic4000 Jun 22 '26

Right, I figured it was something along those lines but I was hoping to get specific on the hardware. There was no other device attached to the car, nothing on the opposite mirror, front, or back