Full-on yellow tape robot graffiti — what does it mean?

Twice now I’ve noticed a yellow tape robot placed somewhere conspicuous in an urban core: Once in Chicago near Millenium Park (left) and once in Portland near Powell’s (right). The Chicago robot, which probably measured a foot or so in length, was spotted around New Year’s Day, 2010, while the Portland robot — much smaller at maybe three inches tall — was spotted just Sunday.

I’ve been Googling and Flickring like mad to try and identify the common thread that would put a yellow tape robot on a sign and on a busy street thousands of miles from one another, but have come up with nothing. Is this a pop culture icon I’m not familiar with? A hip underground tape graffiti collective that’s on the verge of blowing up? Something completely benign? Some snarky way of marking touristy spots? Some completely random coincidence? One person with yellow tape who travels to the same cities as I and marks where he’s been?

I must know.

Instant update: Only thing that comes close that I’ve found is an image in this post. Of course no explanation accompanies it.

Instant update 2.0: A fellow LT directed me to a photo on Flickr and I followed a tag rabbit hole and found this collection of what is apparently known as Stikman. Hot damn, I love the constantly pulsing internet brain. Now to figure out what this little dude means. If anything.