Forget snakes on a plane, for soon there could be snakes in your drains – robotic snakes, that is, which can climb vertical pipes, cleaning them or looking for leaks.

Norwegian scientists are working on a one-and-a-half metre long aluminium-clad robot is constructed with multiple joints, plastic wheels, and a camera, and is programmed with algorithms that tell it how to navigate pipework, and what tasks to carry out while in there…