What the heck is this contraption?
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 - 7:26pm
My co-workers and I are completely stumped. What is the object pictured below?
Every time we walk by it, we stop to discuss what it could possibly be, and no one has hit upon anything that seems sensible.
It's placed between two driveways, the lower circular plate is fixed, and the upper circular plate is attached to some kind of motorized positioning jobbie. The lower plate is a somewhat lustrous white (not mirrored), and the upper plate is flat white.
We have compiled a lengthy list of conjectures, but I'm wondering if someone actually knows...
WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS THING?!
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For making Pizza?
Sorry I got nothing..
But that sure is bizzare.. I'd wander the site until I found someone and would ask them.
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Really fancy bug zapper. Bugs fly in, blue light glows bright, bugs go ffffzzzzzt.
It's somebody's fetish!
muttonchop wrote:
Looks like mechanical piatti to me (those are the crash cymbals in an orchestral percussion pit). They're even held at the correct angles. Weird...
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Someone must have the answer. In the Internet age, I no longer tolerate not knowing things that I wish to know.
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Having you tried googling the address of the place to see if it comes up elsewhere?
The bottom plate looks concave, and it looks like there is something on the underside of the top plate, which makes me wonder if it some sort of satellite signal receptor.
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It's an actuating reflector for firing an assault laser around corners in an urban environment.
Does the motorised part actually move throughout the day? Maybe some sort of arty timepiece which has lost some bits over time?
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Is there a reciever on the otherside of the street or anywhere in the direction of the bottom dish? Maybe it's a fancy motion detector to count how many people stop and look at it. Maybe a microwave dish to melt the sidewalk if your in a location that gets snow.
My vote is "art."
My vote is the remnants of an old sign. It reminds me of the guts of one of those old round ball lighted gas station signs. The circles are not outside - they're anchors that are inside the shape of the sign.
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I took the liberty of sticking this up on AskReddit, just to expose it to a broader audience on the off-chance we might hit someone who would know. No luck yet. My first instinct was some kind of reflector for a highly directional signal, which some others have posited, but I can't be sure.
TempestBlayze wrote:
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I would imagine it's a microwave relay of some kind - since they require line-of-sight they'd need some kind of reflector if something was in the way, like an inconvenient wall.
Also, does the person who guesses right get a prize?
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Lots of writing on the piece with the wires sticking out...can you read it?
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I don't see a picture... WHY CAN'T ROBEAR PLAY?!
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TempestBlayze wrote:
XBL|Steam|PSN: NSMike
Yeah, it says
IGIS Roboticson there. Looking that up just turned up a company that makes, um, robots. I'm not sure if they're responsible for whole thing, or if that's just a generic controllable positioning doodad. I think it says the same on the top plate, as well.*edit* bad info, it saus "EGIS Robotic Positioner."
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Oh no. The robotic revolution has begun.
PANIC.
gtnissanfan wrote:
Doomsday Device
FedoraMcQuaid wrote:
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$100 to who guesses what it is.
Aint nothing new about the world order..it's been playing since the day they put George Washington on a quarter
85's face the truth you're too dumb.
http://www.myspace.com/armyofthepharaohs
Cellphone signal "bouncer"? Making sure someone "important" doesn't get stuck without signal in a downtown "valley"?
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UPDATE! I went by it again today, and they've put up a fence nearby which precludes close examination from the construction side. However, I was able to verify that my memory sucks. The top plate is mirrored and it actually says "EGIS Robotic Positioner" on the top. This is why cops don't trust eyewitness accounts.
XBLive: Ruckus
meh...that would just be referring to the piece holding the upper plate then.
gotta be some kinda transmitter
Plan B: Start throwing rocks at it and see who comes to fix it
I may be going to hell in a bucket, but at least I'm enjoyin' the ride
With the added bit of info of the correct manufacturer, I am pretty sure it is a Heliostat system to redirect sunlight.
http://egis.org/helio_us.html
Look at the photo about half way down the page on the lower left, with a caption for a similar system installed in L.A.
Do I win a prize?
*Edit* Here is the caption:
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It looks like that component is just used to remotely control a disc or other device that's mounted on it. I found a website where someone wanted to use one to control their satellite dish.
My guess would be that the bottom dish catches the rays or signals of some sort and concentrates them towards the center of the reflective dish (with remote controlled positioner) which is used to guide those rays at something. I would guess that when it's used, the reflection points outwards, and the down position is the off position.
Not much help I guess.
Edit: With the info from the above post, I'd guess that's what it is. Most likely used to illuminate a "gallery object," so maybe a sculpture which would be in the shadows during the day since there are lots of tall buildings around. Is there anything in the other direction from where you took the picture or any holes in the ground where something may have been mounted?
Like I said, it's an actuating reflector for an assault laser
It's an automatic circumciser.
Certis wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
I'll hold the ladder while you check it still works.
Interesting in what it actually was... i guess these things aren't that widely used.
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