News and notes from Reston (tm).

Monday, July 28, 2014

We, For One, Welcome Our Robotic Silver Line Overlords

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Confidential Restonian Operative "Joel" snapped this picture during Saturday's Silver Line opening-day festivities. "Nearby, a helpful mechanical woman directed the anxious to a gated community of Port-A-Potties," he writes.

Beyond the whole uncanny valley thing, we have so many questions: Why a mannequin? And for $2.6 billion, couldn't they find a pair of slacks with matching legs to dress said mannequin? Who is controlling that Segway-esque scooter, and is it looped into the Matrix train-control system? And, most puzzling of all, how is the robot/mannequin/metaphor for all things Silver Line actually holding the sign?

"Joel" decided not to wait in the long line for the first Silver Line train, so he found himself another, only slightly less exciting, ribbon-cutting ceremony:

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EXCELSIOR.

6 comments:

  1. That creepy mannequin was present for the open house (one week prior to metro opening), and it had a smaller sign. And the sign was spinning. And this was via a metal post jutting out of its navel, or thereabouts. (Do mannequins have navels?) A small power supply sat at "her" feet. My son found this mildly off-putting. Me, too. It looked so odd in the summer sun, all by itself, lacking context and dignity. But the ice cream was free that day, so what the hell?

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    Replies
    1. Bowling 4 BollardsJuly 28, 2014 at 9:37 PM

      Ah, another "public art" installation perhaps? That sort of thing being all the rage in Reston these days...

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  2. Do Silver Line robots dream of electric sheep? Or maybe functioning escalators?

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  3. Speaking of public art, does anyone have an update on where the Wiehle rad 80s art is? It seems to be missing so far.

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  4. You buried the lead -- RESTROOMS in a Metro station!!! This mannequin is probably directing people to the portapotties, but I read that they have 4 restrooms at the station.

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