The Porcupine was the first major invention resulting from the partnership between CENPES and CETUC, and it led to the formation of PipeWay as a company in 1998. The device uses magnetic based displacement sensors to measure wall position with respect to the center of the device, which accurately records both loss of material in the pipeline wall and deposits within the pipeline such as wax. These sensors, which protrude from the center of the device looking like a porcupine, are individually calibrated and have a high level of sensitivity, detecting even minute changes throughout a pipeline wall. Furthermore, the Porcupine uses sophisticated algorithms to compensate for any wall thickness variations, thus providing high-resolution defect detection and sizing of minor and major changes. In addition, the device can operate with the same level of sensitivity in liquid or gas pipelines and can be attached to MFL ILI devices made by PipeWay or other companies.