The part you are referring has been introduced in 2008 and is very standard. It's a linear actuator (large version), ref: https://www.brickowl.com/catalog/lego-

The part you are referring has been introduced in 2008 and is very standard. It's a linear actuator (large version), ref: https://www.brickowl.com/catalog/lego-linear-actuator-10-15-61927 https://www.brickowl.com/catalog/lego-linear-actuator-10-15-.... It is indeed a very interesting thing, much more reliable than a pneumatic cylinder and much more compact than a "homemade" linear actuator (screw + gear rack). The team said they did create new parts, which might seem like cheating, but later they say they were "existing shapes in new colors". To be more precise, they needed semi-transparent version of some parts for the light system, and it's unsurprising that they needed to make them because semi-transparent lego parts are quite rare (since they are used for specific details in lego sets, not for bulk construction). I'm pretty forgiving on such a small sidestep from full purism given the scale and the result of the project.