Theo Jansen makes huge, multi-legged machines built up from skeletons of yellow plastic tubing. He thinks of them as living creatures and calls them "strandbeesten" -- beach animals. They use windpower to cruise along the edge of beaches, and they function best along wet sand close to the edge. After several iterations, he's developed sensors to allow the machines to "determine" whether they're veering too close to the water or too high up on the sand.
Jansen's Animaris Rhinoceros Transport, a two-ton monster that looks like a futuristic grit-covered tank, is big enough to carry a few people in its cockpit. He's working on an even bigger model.
Jansen likes to race the machines against each other and plunder the losers for parts. He describes the process of learning and redesigning as evolutionary.
If you're interested in the ideas behind the beasts, you can read an interview with Jansen at artificial.dk. You can also listen to an audio clip of a talk he gave at PopTech in 2005.
If you're likely to be in London on the 27th of June, 2006, you'll be able to see a strandbeest for yourself. Jansen plans to launch one (endearingly or preposterously named "Animaris Percipiere Excelsus") along an artificial beach between the Trafalgar Square fountains.
Jansen also plans to exhibit at London's Institute of Contemporary Art from 1-16 July 2006 and at the Shanghai Bienniale, opening in late September 2006.
