Sensor bar for the bridge's Wii. The audience only sees the lights because cameras can pick up infrared. Data finds them amusing, and Geordi just filters them out; the rest of the crew can't see them.
Lol, can't say I have. But I did eventually learn that the sensor bars are just dumb IR lights that the remotes track rather than something more complex, so I can see how it would work.
They're waymarkers. They tell you at a glance if the ship is going forward, reversing, or turning - and at what speed. However, their on-screen use throughout Trek history has been either inconsistent or completely overlooked by the FX department.
It's the thing that goes "boowoowooo." You know when it's all quiet on the bridge and you just hear that high pitched pinging sound? That's that bar right there with the lights. It is absolutely vital for the function of any Starfleet vessel.
The ship's inertial dampers can easily stop the crew from getting thrown around from space turbulence or torpedo impacts. But if they let the ship's computer / Majel Barrett rag doll the bridge crew every now and then, it'll never go Skynet on them.
I just love how I read every comment with complete seriousness just to realize all you guys are just joking.
For a second, reading that stuff is being a sensor bar for the Wii, I tried to imagine that on the ship just to realize what I read, but it was already too late.