Fans of a certain cult classic sci-fi film may have been surprised or excited to see a strange black rectangle appear on Douglas promenade this week.

However, while it may look similar, it is not a monolith from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey, it is actually a counter and information screen put in place by the Department of Infrastructure.

The machine, which has been placed opposite the Queen’s Hotel on Queen’s Promenade, resembles a giant iPad. It is there to count the number of people who walk and cycle on the walkway.

The DoI said the counter would help the department know how many people are using the walkway and, in turn, ’make informed and better decisions about where to target resources’.

As well as counting walkers and cyclists, it will also allow the DoI to provide work updates on the promenade regeneration scheme, which is about 10 weeks behind schedule.

The screen follows the introduction of posts that have been temporarily placed on the Heritage Trail at Glen Lough to record how many walkers and cyclists use the track.

Others have been placed on the Raad ny Foillan coastal footpath between Peel and Glen Maye, and on the Millennium Way footpath near Sulby Reservoir.