A strange machine (an umbrella-wrapping machine?)

Hi Mika,

here is a picture of a machine I saw in a mall the other day:

I am not sure what it does. But when people carry their wet umbrellas through a mall, the floor gets wet. And wet floors can be slippery!  So I think the people of Hong Kong put this machine there so that they don't get wet slippery floors.  When it rains, I will buy an umbrella and then stick my wet umbrella into this machine (like the sign says in English and Chinese), and then I will find out how the machine works.
I will let you know how the machine works after I try it.

Uncle Chris