+Lerbyn you know that moment you look away from your screen or take of your goggles and think "this game looks boring but the graphics are amazing!"? That is it.
I love the concept & philosophy behind them & how each new generation informs the next. Even better is how well laid out that exhibit is to explain it all! It's a true inspiration to any maker looking to re-make, improve, & develop a design of something that is uniquely their own.
In America, you just drill holes in the wooden studs of a house and run the electrical wires through them. It actually seems rather dangerous in comparison to finding out they run them through wires in other countries.
Mandarin Duck yeah right, it’s not an 80s hardbody, or the vaguely isolated concept of effusive “big”-ness. He’s not ever even gonna feign interest, let alone understanding. Glad somebody brought up Trump though, you don’t see that very often in comment sections, so kudos :D
Great to see Norm geek out over these. I wonder whether Theo will at one point incorperate technique to let the strandbeesten walk upwind. It's doable. It takes turbine to drive an axle. There are turbine car races going straight upwind in the Dutch province of Zeeland. And I believe the Google Blackbird once did it at 2x the wind speed.
I would like to compiment Norm on the pronounciation of "theo jansen" and "strandbeest". Its the best pronounciation of these words that I have ever heard because it comes so close to the actual Dutch pronounciation
Excellent interview. I'm wondering if NASA or JPL could use this artist/engineer's ideas to propel robots on Mars. Also, with 3D printing machines, wouldn't it be possible to make stronger strandbeets out of carbon fiber ?
wrapped around? electrical wiring standard in most European countries says electrical wires mounted in walls needs to be put through pvc pipes like this for easier wiring of houses and better electrical safety than if the wires was just put in loose in the wall. that is why its such a common material.
fire is not the only issue when it comes to cables: rodents are less likely to chew through pipe than wire; a pipe will protect the cable from moist in the wall; if you drill into the wall and hit a pipe, the drill will most likely slide off
I'm starting work at a biorobotics lab and working on codes to run these complex couples odes is no joke. Major props to getting something like this working without motor assist
In animals, the legs push off the ground to drive the animal. In the Strandbeest, the wind pushes the animal to drive the animal. In the Strandbeest, rather than the legs driving the animal, the sand is driving the legs to move. The walking motion does not produce propulsion. The walking motion actually reduces propulsion. It is all a clever illusion to make it look like the Strandbeest is walking. The Strandbeest would be much more efficient if it rolled instead of walked. But if it rolled, it wouldn't catch people's imagination. That being said, the Strandbeest needs as much ground contact as possible to push the legs into motion. Without much ground contact, the legs would just dig in, the Strandbeest would stop, and eventually possibly just blow over.
It would be neat if he could incorporate some sensors and program them to avoid obstacles. I can't see this going for more than a couple hours without running into a tree.
It's well worth looking into them more, they have simple pvc 'sensors' ie poles that detect the sea so they don't just walk into the sea and 'drown' also remember they're beach creatures not urban
He does have sensors in them, it's quite cool actually. He puts a tube at the feet of some of these so when they walk into water, it cuts off the intake of air, forcing the beast to walk away from the water. Another sensor system he has in them is when the wind is too heavy a sensor trips and the sails drop and a hook burrows into the grab as to stop them from blowing away.
In the final seconds of the video you can see the Beast taking a POOP !! He should put them on a leash when he wants to walk them around, A pendulum and watch mechanics seem like they would be an obvious choice for a heart.. I hope one day they can pick up litter like needles , plastic , and junk. Make it big and ride-able with (bike / tredmil or wind surfing -kite) locomotion and charge people for a ride , like renting a jetski or banana boat... Can't wait for Adam's Metal ride-able one__
Putting a leash on them would go against everything he intends of them. They are his children not pets, and he wants them to eventually be self sustaining
And a small lesson: our wires are in the pvc piping, not wrapped around, and another TNX for mentioning its The Netherlands and not saying holland... GJ
I get it and completely agree that this is an incredible and beautiful design, more so incredible since its entirely mechanical but comparing this to life forms, with DNA, and ability to reproduce is a bit over the top. By this measure, even Arduino's and Lego should be compared to life forms. Nonetheless, the lack of electronics and computation limits the ability of what the Strandbeest can do. In fact adding simple pressure and proximity sensors with a few actuators can take this to the next level; something that perhaps can be used to clean beeches while it strolls around with minimal energy input. Maybe I should build one myself with some motors and sensors and then invite Jansen for a race :)
Yes, evolution is a process indeed, however technological evolution and biological evolution are not the same thing. The strandbeest strictly falls under one category and not the other, unlike what the video suggests by referring to them as 'animals', having a DNA, and having the ability to reproduce. Just say it like it is, its a complex and clever mechanical machine with an incredible design inpired by nature. Could use less of the additional BS layers of 'ohh look at this, this is like a lifeform...'
There's really not a difference between technological and biological evolution. Both select for optimal attributes. In the end, the only difference is what is doing the selecting. So, yes, it is a complex and clever machine, which was developed using a relatively simple evolutionary process. If the selector is given millions of years, this complex, clever machine would eventually be able to adapt to most situations presented to it. Just like, you know, us. It is very much "like a lifeform".
I beg to differ again. Granted that evolution in both the cases proceeds via similar dynamics, but there is a critical difference. The randomness and blind natural selection process in biological evolution is replaced by human will and choice in technological evolution. In nature, success means the passing on of genes; it is not a function of consciousness or choice. In technology, however, success (rather outcome) depends on us and our choices. Technology is under our control in a way biology is not (these boundaries are getting blurred with gene editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas9). However, (for now) in biological evolution, there is no designer; in technological evolution, there is a designer.
Yeah, I knew that 'Strand' is Dutch for 'beach'. But you didn't know that 'strand' is English for 'beach'; so when people such as Theo himself say 'strand beast', it's actually not silly at all.
Theo did not finish his physics study. Calling him a physicist is therefor a bit of a stretch. Don't get me wrong - Mister Jansen is brilliant, but his story is the story of leaving the beaten path and making his own way. Abundant his study is one of the early turning points of that story.
Theo picked up a philosophy during one of the TedTalks that he visited that ideas use humans to reproduce. This is also why Theo considers some of his animals extinct, because he could remake them, but he's not interested in continuing that, so they are functionally extinct, as it's called.
He does allude to the current reproductive cycle of the Strandbeest. Look at Adam, he's pregnant now with his very own Strandbeest. The moment of conception was the moment when Adam first saw one and now he is going to birth his very own. They have a symbiotic existence alongside students and artists (who are effectively the Mothers giving birth to new creatures. The new child will have elements from both the Father (the original Strandbeest where the inspiration comes from) and the mother (the person creating the new Strandbeest). I don't doubt that the one Adam creates will have his own tiny little adjustments and ideas thrown in (whether they work or not remains to be seen)
Adam and Norm say it as right as they can. Theo is the one saying it in "america speak"; he would probably say it like Adam and Norm do if he was speaking Dutch.
Theo is just translating it to English, Adam and Norm are saying it the Dutch way. "Beest" in Dutch sounds like English "based" or "baste". I guess it's also common for English speakers to hear the Dutch "a" like "o" so whether or not Adam and Norm are saying it like that or you're hearing it that way I don't know (or care enough to look into it). Dutch and English both have "strand" but it's pronounced different in both (in case I wasn't clear enough).
+Nermket Thanks. I didn't figure on Theo translating it as names at least aren't usually changed between languages. A volkswagen is still a volkswagen here :)
***** it's not about pronunciation, it's translation. He meant that volkswagen is still spelt "volkswagen" and not translated to "folks' wagon" or "people's car", unlike Theo saying "strand beast" instead of "strandbeest". But, I'd zay it's pronaunst "vvolcçwaggn" in đe US.
For such an intelligent man why is he limiting himself to PVC? (Besides the slight use of other materials)... He could progress so much further, by broadening his uses of other materials.
these, in my mind, are physically represented programmes. computer programs have updates and fixes and undergo an evolutionary process, so i don't doubt there will come a day when the strandbeests become self sufficient and can reproduce like biological organisms. the building blocks will not be DNA, so all of these processes will have to be thought up by people. the first computers were once mechanical devices, and are now entering the quantum realm; don't doubt technology's ability to advance. the only limit is your mind.
