Beach+walker

[|Beach Walker] (video 2:57) - Theo Jansen’s strutting sculptures achieve astonishingly lifelike movement at Art Basel on Miami Beach.

"The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds." --[|Theo Jansen]

[|Theo Jansen] is a Dutch artist. In 1990, he began what he is known for today: building large mechanisms out of PVC that are able to move on their own, known only as Strandbeest. His works are a fusion of art and engineering.
 * PVC tubing - Since 1947 Dutch law has decreed that this strandbeest-yellow-tube be used to conduct electricity cables in houses. So it is very cheap.
 * [|leg system] - In the middle of each beach animal is a kind of spine, more specifically a crankshaft. The remarkable thing about this spine is that it can rotate.  This rotation is converted by 11 small rods into a walking movement.
 * equipped with their own artificial intelligence, his creations can avoid obstacles by changing course

[| The Jansen's linkage] is a leg mechanism designed by the kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen to simulate a smooth walking motion. Jansen has used his mechanism in a variety of kinetic sculptures which are known as Strandbeests.
 * What's the problem?**
 * **Ask** - Using just PVC tubing and some connections, how can the Strandbeests be made to "walk" down a beach?
 * **Imagine** - What are some of the basic components of the motion of walking? How could this be replicated with a simple mechanical structure? Jansen came up with an ingenious simulation of walking motion using a simple rotary input. He built a model from plywood to illustrate the actions of the components.
 * **Design, Build** - Using PVC tubing, Jasen created the huge Strandbeests based on the simple mechanism he devised.
 * **Improve** - Jansen has built and displayed many of his Strandbeests. Each is a bit different but relies on the same basic walking structure.


 * That's engineering**
 * crankshaft

> rotation, crankshaft
 * Engineering ideas**

Challenges for you to work on...
 * Do It**
 * build your own Strandbeest model. Use the information for the [|leg proportions in the diagram] as a guide to build your first model. Then try to improve on that.


 * News, updates**


 * Learn more...**

..r1 2a