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Comment by nullcaution | Hacker News Reader

Its definitely neat, but not sure how practical it is against traditional pressure/vacuum?

The Oil Industry has a big lead in this tech, but maybe this would be useful in domestic applications like drainage?

Oil and gas use pipe "pigs" which date back to pulling a bale of hay tied to a wire through the pipe to clean things out. Apparently they made a squeeling sound and the name Pipe Pig stuck. More details on modern pigging: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

They use smart pigs to inspect pipelines too. They are awesome looking machines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmJ083afaYY

One of the most memorable company names I have ever heard, memorable enough that 30 years later, I still remember that their phone number is 1-800-HOT-HOGS is the New Pig Corporation. I occasionally see their products on city streets.

They make oil-spill containment barriers and cleanup equipment and until your comment, I had no idea where the name came from. Now I wonder if there's a connection...

Second most memorable, at least the phone number, is 1-800-ROBOHAND (robot end effectors). I think they are now a part of Schunk Corp.

I did find it strange that in most of the footage the pipes seemed to be tightly sealed with screws, adhesive, and in some cases what looked to be foam. It makes me wonder if there was some sort of vacuum required for this demo.

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