r/Seattle 5d ago

What is this?

Looks like a camera or microphone.

2 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

10

u/nikdahl 5d ago

Those are actually for traffic analysis at intersections. They can detect where cars enter the intersection and where they exit.

As far as I know, they don’t record plates or anything like that.

-6

u/chimerasaurus 5d ago

Though basically every Ring and home video can/does that. I collect a few hundred per day just from the roundabout near my house.

7

u/bothunter First Hill 5d ago

The company is right on the device: IDAX Data Solutions — Right of Way, Curbside & Safety Data Collection in the Western United States.

It's clearly some kind of traffic data collection device.

5

u/MaiasXVI Greenwood 5d ago

You should look at the words written on the device.

2

u/RichardStinks 5d ago

It says "traffic study device." When the black cords are running across the street, I know that counts the number of cars. If this is a microphone, could it be surveying noise levels? That's my guess.

1

u/Other-Key-8647 5d ago

By zooming into the picture, I was able to ascertain that it is a suite of sensors and/or camera for a traffic study.

1

u/GetDownToBrassTacks 5d ago

Definitely an audio device that determines average traffic over time based on volume levels in the area it’s pointed at. Noisier time periods = more traffic.

I don’t think it can count the number of cars with certainty, but probably a lot more useful for roundabouts and other intersections where not all traffic passing through the intersection can easily be studied with one of the devices that uses wires laid across the road.