Commentators have regularly referred to what Burling is getting up to in the helmsman's seat where he appears to have state-of-the-art controls at his fingertips.
Ironically, the video application is the latest development from New Zealand-based Ian Taylor and his company Animation Research Limited who have been involved in Cup animations for 25 years.
That product, now called Virtual Eye, was originally designed for television broadcasters but has quickly been adopted by syndicates keen to tap into the secrets of their competitors.
Taylor said the "360VR" device runs off a mobile phone attached to a $100 virtual reality headset.
Gladwell wrote the device provides "a stunning 360 view of what it is like to sail aboard an AC50".
He said he viewed the device's coverage of a challenger race between the Kiwis and the British challenger helmed by Sir Ben Ainslie.
At one stage, Gladwell says Burling looks so relaxed that he could be "out for a Sunday drive in the family jalopy".
So with just a day to go until the re-start of the America's Cup Match, what will Oracle be able to see when they jump aboard the New Zealand boat?
Gladwell wrote that the 360 degree footage revealed in greater detail how Team NZ operated.
"Looking at the cyclors, Blair Tuke is mainly working on the daggerboard controls, with his head down while the three ahead of him do most of the most of the work," Gladwell wrote.
"That'll probably tell Oracle that the Kiwis are capable of generating more power than they need.
"Wingsail trimmer, Glen Ashby is much the same, but below Tuke - again playing the switches and controls.
"There's little conversation in the boat save for a countdown to the start of a tack, gybe or mark rounding."
The 360VR camera pack consists of eight GoPro's - with one looking up, two looking down and five covering a 360degree horizontal radius.
The prototype was built about a year ago, using a 3D printer in a basement at ARL's Dunedin offices.
Gladwell added that "one disadvantage of being in the 'shotgun seat' is that it is very wet".
"There seems to be a lot of water coming through the centre of the trampoline," he wrote.
Gladwell described the 360VR as 'a game changer for the coverage of sailing especially - the reason being that the platform of the catamaran is sufficiently wide to give a realistic view out to either side of the boat, rather than just looking straight into the water passing by".
"Look to your right, and there is the crew working away in the starboard cockpits.
"Look to your left, and there are the empty cockpits in the leeward hull.
"When the crew tack or gybe the AC50 they run across the trampoline in front of you. You can see how Peter Burling reaches out to grab the slack wingsail sheet as he crosses.
"And if you look carefully you can see Glenn Ashby reach behind him to put a hand briefly on the AC50 wheel to keep control as the helmsman crosses the platform."
