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RC Submarine Lays Fiber Through Sewers In Italy

Posted by timothy on from the let's-not-see-the-camera-view-please dept.

Francesco Fondi writes "An Italian Company is using RC scale model submarines to lay fiber through Milan's sewage system. The RC submarine used is the Neptune SB-1, produced by Taiwanese company Thunder Tiger. It costs ca $600 in US hobby shops." In Italian, but the pictures speak for themselves.

15 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. No Shit? by Elvis77 · · Score: 5, Funny

    No Shit?

    --

    The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed (SK)
  2. Re:In other news by mrmeval · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CzgSAJ5v_8

    Looooooooooooooonnggg

    --
    I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
  3. You'll probably by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...get a shit connection. There, I said it.

  4. Fiber in the sewer systems? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of course, the other way to get more fibre in the system bran muffins.

  5. understandable by sumdumass · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This makes sense, I have been using RC 4wheel drive cars to run cable under craw spaces and in some cases, across long stretches of drop ceilings for a couple of years now. The great thing is that I can deduct toys from my taxes.

    1. Re:understandable by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Informative

      Guys have been doing this for ages, it doesn't take much pull for straight runs. You can get pretty cheap R/C tanks at Radio Shack pretty often, which are quite good for this particular purpose in terms of price:performance ratio. The simple truth though is that today's R/C cars are fucking pissed off. I've got a rally car (saloon with the suspension raised) that makes 28 MPH. The Six-C NiCD pack regularly gets hotter than you want to hold. Actually, as an AWD car with low CG but high clearance and limited slip diffs, it might be an idea cable puller :)

      You can't navigate if you can't see, there are numerous tiny video transmitters which will run off of ~6V, commonly available inside R/C cars or trivial to add with a 4AA pack. But if you can see the thing you can just tape a Mag-Lite to it.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. Great.. by FrostedWheat · · Score: 5, Funny

    Even mutant turtles get better broadband than me.

  7. In soviet Italy... by migla · · Score: 5, Funny

    In soviet Italy, the crap is full of internet.

    --
    Some of my favourite people are from th US; Vonnegut, Chomsky, Bill Hicks.
  8. Slashdotted by jimallison86 · · Score: 5, Informative

    If only the pictures would load, it seems to be slashdotted.

    Google cache link: http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:phzPunjGi58J:www.hobbymedia.it/14893/sottomarino-radiocomandato+http://www.hobbymedia.it/14893/sottomarino-radiocomandato&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=firefox-a

  9. Translation by Toy+G · · Score: 4, Informative

    Quick translation...

    ** Neptune, the radio-controlled submarine from Sabattinicars, lays ADSL cables in sewers

    The July issue of Focus magazine contains an interesting piece on the use of Thunder TigerNeptune submarine (distributed in Italy by SabattiniCars) to lay ADSL cables through the sewage network. Cristoforo Massari, a physicist employed by the council of Milan, remarks that this system makes it possible to reach any building or house without any excavating effort, saving a lot of money. And to think that someone still argues that modelmaking is a useless hobby! [sic]

    --
    -- Let's go Viridian.
  10. Please tag this story "it" by Spacezilla · · Score: 4, Funny

    Please tag this story "it", so it's easier to find other stories about Italy later.

  11. I think the word you're looking for... by jonaskoelker · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm sure there's going to be a lot of band jokes coming about "blocked tubes" and the like.

    Instead of traffic congestion, we will have traffic constipation.

  12. Cable repair guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's all fun and games until the cable breaks and someone has to swim in there and fix it.

  13. poor little Italian hobby company webserver by funkboy · · Score: 4, Funny

    didn't stand a chance against a slashdotting...

  14. Other Toilet ISPs by miller60 · · Score: 4, Informative

    This recalls Google's Toilet ISP April Fool's prank. But there was actually a broadband-via-sewer called CityNet, which raised $375 million back in 2001. It also used robots to run the cabling. This story recaps that initiative, and can serve as topical reading while TFA is Slashdotted.

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    RichM
    Data Center Knowledge