Kataka’s linear actuator “is based on segmented spindle technology, and was conceived by the Danish mechanical engineer Jens Joerren Soerensen during the mid 1990s.” Videos after the break.
The basic idea was that if a solid conventional spindle is broken up in smaller segments (in a way so it can be assembled and disassembed), it is possible to make compact spindles.
[via OhGizmo!]