Theo Jansen has selflessly given his “11 holy numbers” away for the public to use however they see fit (See my previous post “Aesthetic Explorations: Theo Jansen and His Strandbeest” for more information on his creations). Shown below, the 11 numbers for a linkage system for a leg to be powered by a crank. I would like to use his design to create my own walking “Strandbeest” out of Popsicle sticks (if they are strong enough) or thin wood.
Below is someone else’s attempt at building their own mini-Stranbeest using what look like could be Popsicle sticks or another form a thin hobby wood. He is using dowels to link everything together, I think I would prefer to use metal wire or pins instead.
For the body, I will add a handle to drag the creature along and possibly a propeller to take wind power and convert it into mechanical energy. If I cannot effectively using wind, I will just build a simple hand crank to power the crankshaft.
This week I plan to start using SolidWorks to make a simple model of my design and start thinking about sourcing my materials. I am hoping to start work late this week and definitely no later than the start of the next week.
Sources:
Jansen, Theo. “Mini Beasts | Books Beast Photos Events Theo Jansen Contact.”STRANDBEEST. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2017.
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[…] (if you are unfamiliar, check my previous posts Overview of Strandbeest by Theo Jansen and Upcycle Thoughts: Kinetic Walking Sculpture). On the way to my goal, I had found that the process of construction was much more time consuming […]
This is quite the undertaking. I will be very impressed if you can pull this off. A couple years ago, a professor of mine had brought up the Strandbeest and showed a brief clip of it walking down a beach just using the wind as power. These machines are incredible. This project will probably take quite some time, and as discussed in class, basswood or balsa wood would be very easy to work with. Im excited to see how this turns out!