A Twisty Maze Of Sewerbot Links, All Different

skids writes "Look before you sit! Sewer systems all over the world are under seige by robots laying fiber to the curb -- and beyond. There's even a standards body forming. (Doesn't that consitute a one-level recursion of 'pipes carrying filth'?)" It's been a while since we last mentioned these things.

Comments

It's all fun and games...

[craenor]

Until a wrong turn has a battlebot crawling out of your toilet with cable laying on it's mind.

Re:It's all fun and games...

[Bicoid]

Think of it this way. They're laying fiber optics. What's the worst thing that happens? You get that colonoscopy you've been putting off?

And...

[Cali Thalen]

...when people tell you that the internet has gone down the toilet, NOW what do you have to say?

Translation

[Alsee]

It's been a while since we last mentioned these things.

In other words it's a dupe in slow motion :)

-

security

[austad]

The bad part about this, is that the fiber will be easy to access for people who would like to do bad things to it, like chop it in half. Right now, most fiber is buried and terminates in locked buildings/closets/etc. But simply lifting a manhole cover gives an attacker access.

A few years ago, there was a guy in Fargo, ND who wanted to rob a stereo shop called Site On Sound. The shop had an alarm system, so instead of just chopping the wires on the outside of the building, he obtained some city blueprints and found where the largest bundle of phone wires went, and cut it in half with a chainsaw. Apparently, it was a 2 foot thick bundle of twisted pairs, and the entire city of Fargo was completely without phone service for nearly a week while the 2 foot thick cable was spliced back together.

Hope they don't plan on running anything too important over sewer fiber. It's cheap, but it has far greater risk than burying it.

Re:security

[Jordy]

I fail to see how this is any less secure than burying fiber and placing big signs around it warning there is a fiber drop so someone with a backhoe doesn't accidentally dig it up. Even in a city where the cable is buried under the road, there are access points all over the place.

In fact, many of these robots are built to run cable in piping that is inaccessible to humans so they are *more* secure than running fiber next to train tracks or under roads.

Re:security

[myov]

A few years ago, the most of the cable system in Ontario (as well as other ISP's) lost internet access when the fiber lines were cut. The lines ran along railway right-of-way to the @home connection in the U.S.

One night, two drunk guys decided to dig up telecom cables and sell the copper (not realizing it's all fiber). In the process, they cut the primary and backup lines.

Robots in the sewers?

[Tseran]

Some say its an urban legend, the stories of robots flushed down the toilets when they were just mini-battle bots, all grown up to huge proportions and laying fiber all over the city. But I know its true! I accidentally flushed by Lego Mindstorms down the toilet one day and now I have high speed internet access when I crap!

Re:Jeez, insecurity all over again

[mangu]

A robot controller can shut the system down alone

That's why there's redundancy in the links. Fiber connections always have two or more links going through physically distant paths. Too many uninformed people operating backhoes around every city.

Why use sewer lines?

[Jason Pollock]

Sewer lines are dirty, nasty confined places, do we really need the roto-rooter guy taking out our broadband connection?

Everyone sees roads continually being torn up to lay cable. Why don't the municipalities lay a "data pipe" to go along with the gas and sewer lines.

That way, there's a maintained pipe for power and data to run down. The city rents space, and you don't have roads being torn up anymore. Instead of once per carrier per service, it's torn up once period! New services become a _lot_ cheaper because you don't have to pay to repave the roads!

Cities would love it because they get a steady income, companies love it because it doesn't involve insane amounts of capex... Win all around?

Jason Pollock

Re:Why use sewer lines?

[kidlinux]

"It then drags three steel conduits -- casing that houses the fiber and shields it from the sewage"

In this article they have a bit at the end detailing how it works. First the robot inserts steel rings into the pipe, then it drags the steel conduit into the pipe and attaches it to the rings.
The cable is then blown through the conduit with pressurized air.

I'm also fairly certain that if a site with fiber optic cable in its sewer pipes had plumbing problems, they'd be sure to let the plumber know before hand. There may even be warning lables attached to said pipes.

Steam Tunnel Repair Robot

[coloth]

These robots reminded me of W.I.S.O.R., a robot built by Honeybee Robotics to repair the ancient steam pipes under New York's streets.

Very interesting to anyone reading this would be a docudrama about the creation of W.I.S.O.R. This is a cross between Pi, 2001, and Junkyard Wars.

Of peripheral, yet substantial interest is Honeybee's RoboTender, a robotic bartender.

Bandwidth

[indigo78]

I don't want even a small cable to reduce my sewer bandwidth...

So, when you have connection problems...

[Anonymous Coward]

it's a real shitty connection :P

(sorry, i couldn't resist)

Way to go Bill and Al!

[Nefrayu]

It would seem that this is a convergence of policies for the former US President and VP. Clinton wanted to make healthcare more affordable and/or free, and Gore wanted to route the internet to everyone's home, business, or public meeting place. With this system you can get the internet and a free colonoscopy at the same time!
Any of you who've been subjected to a sigmoid colonoscopy would know that you can't tell the difference between a robot shoving a fiber optic bundle from a physician shoving the fiber optic endoscope up there.

because...

[malakai]

It cost more to dig up the streets and lay your 'data pipe' then the pipe can generate income over an acceptable period of time. Sure a city could amortize it over 100 years, and _might _ make a profit on the money equal to some other investment they could have done with the money, but there's no guarantee in 100 years this data pipe of yours will still be as usefull. Too risky, too costly, there are better ways to put tax dollars to work.

-malakai

Lawyers

[Catskul]

Why should we put money into developing robots to do this work.

Couldnt we just ask the lawyers to do it while they are down there ?

Prison Sex?

[sielwolf]

What's the worst thing that happens? You get that colonoscopy you've been putting off?

Yeah... I bet that's what they say when your about to go to prison for a looooonnng time.