Strandbeest

[throwaway920102]

For anyone who wants to know more:

This is an application of Jansen's linkage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jansen%27s_linkage

There are other similar linkages but Jansen's is quite good.

For anyone who doesn't have an idea why something like this matters or is inspiring beyond art, legged vehicles have many downsides but one big upside is that you can theoretically avoid the rubber/microplastic particulate emission associated with tires and wheeled vehicles if you can make legged vehicles as good as wheeled ones.

Even an electric battery vehicle with an electric motor charged by a solar/wind/nuclear power plant still emits pure poison into the air and waterways through friction between tires and the road.

Good alternatives would be biocompatible tires (Nitinol mesh tires like SMART Tire company's initial prototype that lacked the rubber coating) or legged vehicles.

[jpk]

> legged vehicles have many downsides but one big upside is that you can theoretically avoid the rubber/microplastic particulate emission associated with tires and wheeled vehicles if you can make legged vehicles as good as wheeled ones.

How do you square this idea with the fact that my running shoes wear out? I'm a legged vehicle, and it's clear that the soles of my shoes wear down over time and the lost mass of the rubber went somewhere.

Whether legs or wheels, there are going to be contact patches that have to endure some quantity of sheering force when the vehicle is doing anything other than remaining stationary. It's this sheering force that grates the particulates away from tires, and I presume a legged vehicle would need a tire-like compound on the surfaces it uses to contact the road. So why would legs be different in this regard?

[polishdude20]

Wouldn't a legged vehicle still have that problem if it can achieve the same speeds and weights that regular cars go at?

Scale up a human for example to the weight and speed of a car. Crazy powerful and big legs, big feet, big shoes. The rubber must hit the road either way and push down with a force to propel the weight of this car-heavy legged human at speeds of 100km/h. It would still wear rubber away just like tires do.

Legged vehicles aren't a replacement for regular vehicles if tire particulates are your concern.

[hinkley]

I feel like your choice of phrasing downplays the fact that the strandbeest is created by the guy the principle is named after.

[samstave]

So many people dont know this - the tire muck that comes from theforever chemicals used in all tire manufacture is horrifically bad - to the point where one eco guy I was listening to basically gave up when he learned just how bad the chemicals from tires are. (ill try to find the podcast) -- and he notes how Humans tried to make reefs out of tires for Ocean Life.

In dystopian Dark Mirror Humor, I bemused myself with the day dream thought that Michelin Star restaurants, whom are awarded 3 stars for the distance one should be willing to drive is greatest with more stars - meaning that you should be willing to make a journey to the off-beaten path to visit and eat this food (which has yet to be em-poisoned with the forever chemicals our Tires have put into all the densely populated environments, thus this Elite Food is Clean.

[YeGoblynQueenne]

There's a question of course about why we're not using legged machines but I think you're way over-thinking this. Strandbeests are just a cool and beautiful art project and there is no more justification that they need than that. Art has a utility all of its own without having to inspire engineering works.

Besides which strandbeests are made of plastic tubing which kiind of weakens your argument about environmental friendliness.

[Cthulhu_]

You seem to posit that legged vehicles doing 100+ km/h for hundreds of thousands of kilometers do not have as much wear and tear as rubber tires do. What is that based on? And does it have the same or better friction / energy efficiency?

(I know the answers, I'm just trying to provoke you into thinking about your comment)

[IncreasePosts]

Are any companies doing r&d for drop in tire replacements that don't have as much of an issue with micro plastics?

[dyauspitr]

That’s a dumb reason. A reason for reasons sake.

These matter because they are beautiful and make people happy. They’re also appreciable technical achievements.

[xg15]

Isn't another advantage of legged vehicles being more applicable to uneven/unstable terrain? (Like in this case the constantly shifting water/mud/sand boundaries of a beach)

If you wanted to build a similar contraption that is powered by wind but moves on wheels, I imagine there is a much larger chance of it getting stuck.

[lucianbr]

It says these are made of plastic pipe. Doesn't the pipe wear down where it contacts (or even slides in the video) the ground, creating microplastics?

Also, it already slides some of the time in the videos. Not sure what the advantage is over a simple slide dragged by a sail.

[immibis]

Yes indeed - Jansen's machines are applications of Jansen's linkage :)

[dcuthbertson]

If your goal is to replace rubber tires, then how about going whole hog and turn the entire road system into a railway system? Tires made of steel, parallel tracks, lots of switching, perhaps regional control systems to guide computerized vehicles along the fastest route keeping safe distances between cars, and cars that automatically link and unlink to create dynamic trains along shared routes. I think that would be a very cool system (although outrageously expensive to realize).

[rajnathani]

There are tire particulate matter capture devices out there, in research at least [0]. This solution plus having a heavy vehicle weight-dependent tax could help (i.e. encouraging more 2 (or 3) wheeler transportation regardless of whether motorized or not).

[0] https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/195595/worlds-first-device-c...

[chairmansteve]

"but one big upside is that you can theoretically avoid the rubber/microplastic particulate emission associated with tires".

Flying cars would solve this problem.

[vulkd]

These are fantastic. Reminds me of the structures ("choruses"?) from "A Topiary" script by Shane Carruth (the same bloke who made Primer). The first act's "pattern-seeking" premise is great, too. I think anyone who enjoys films such as Aronofsky's Pi, Linklater, Kaufman, etc would enjoy at least skimming through the first act.

- Script: https://indiegroundfilms.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/20...

- Script Reviews: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17338551-a-topiary

- Trailer (Not sure if legit) showing the Strandbeest-like creatures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16vaQ9Tv8Lc

[jes5199]

I love this script, it's a shame that it will probably never be a film. The philosophy question it implies - does science and technology have its own teleology, and if so is that good or evil - is one that fascinates me

for anyone who doesn't know the history, Carruth shopped this script around for years before giving up on finding anyone to fund it. Eventually he gave up and made a different film. And then he was arrested on charges of domestic violence, and a second victim filed a restraining order against him. Since then, he hasn't been welcome in Hollywood. The rumor is that he's returned to his old career, software engineering, where it's easier to find work.

[edanm]

I wasn't aware a script existed! I've been waiting for years to see the movie, being a huge Primer fan, though I understand it probably won't get made.

[frumenty]

Since the video on the site isn't working https://youtu.be/C97kMKwZ2-g?feature=shared

[mhb]

OK I'll be the one. Not sure why these get so much love. Sure they're cool-looking untethered kites but all the nonsense about "creating new forms of life" - really?

[RodgerTheGreat]

It's partially euphemism, but there's also more substance to it than you may realize.

The ratios in the Jansen linkages were originally developed through genetic algorithms in computer simulations. Jansen now builds multiple generations of machines at once and has them compete in various "survival" tasks on the beaches, prioritizing further development based on the success of each "mutation"; an ongoing human-assisted evolutionary process.

The Strandbeest machines are also capable of much more sophisticated behavior than may be evident: they pressurize air using wind power and store it in bottles, which in turn run pneumatic "nervous systems" made from logic gates, oscillators, and flip-flops. As the machines have grown more sophisticated they've gained the ability to sense the waterline (with ground-trailing hoses that detect back-pressure from water) and avoid it, to anchor themselves to the ground when it gets too windy, to steer around simple obstacles, and so on.

Strandbeest machines reproducing independently from humans would be a pipe-dream, but at the very least they should be understood as autonomous, biomimetic robots at the same time as they are sculptures.

[gedy]

Bear in mind he is an artist, and it's de rigueur to have some story or concept with what you make. I learned this the hard way when I used to do algorithmic art back in college, you can't just say what it is or how you made it.

[phendrenad2]

I love simulation theory because it keeps me from going insane when I think of something randomly and it's on the front page of HN the next day (for the first time in 7 months).

Anyway these would be cool if they could actually move humans. Imagine crossing a vast desert with some friends on one of these bad boys.

[Kon-Peki]

I remember seeing an exhibition of these many years ago that included demos [1]. It was outstanding (evidenced by the fact that I still remember). I wonder if he still does tours and exhibitions. If so, be sure to check them out.

[1] https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/strandbe...

[vincvinc]

If you want to experience Strandbeest yourself, Theo will be giving demos on september 14 in Vlissingen, the Netherlands.

https://instagram.com/p/C_Fr24Zg2pl/

[anfractuosity]

Really love the idea of the strandbeest :)

He also sells little miniature ones too - https://www.strandbeest.com/shop/animaris-ordis-parvus

[bensmoif]

Bought one of these miniature kits years ago and kept it on my desk at work and goddamn is it cool and fun and works great! Really encourage any model machine nerds to get one.

[layer8]

The miniature in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9CENC972pY

[xnx]

Accidental strandbeest: https://www.tiktok.com/@ronygarcia15/video/74053667625453683...

[hinkley]

I need his heart. Please give it back.

[johnasmith]

The English translation of the (Dutch) "strandbeest" is "beach animal".

[qiqitori]

There's this guy I met at Maker Faire Tokyo last year who builds walking things (including Strandbeests) out of single-use chopsticks and a dollar-store lint remover for propulsion. If you're interested he has a YouTube channel, https://youtube.com/@miseclinic

[binwiederhier]

Relatedly, here's a 3D printed, mechanical version of it: https://youtu.be/nHqqCRVlUus?si=p_q78n_nKYZhykNt -- By Engineezy, great YouTube channel.

[mosselman]

I love the Strandbeesten. I've never seen them in real life, but I just love the philosophy and the videos.

We have a fossil of one of them that we purchased from the artist which is always a good conversation piece when we have guests.

[SamGyamfi]

I stumbled upon Theo's Instagram page a while ago and I was stunned at how cool his inventions are. I'd really underrated how well one could bridge engineering and art.

https://www.instagram.com/theojansen_official/

[ElCapitanMarkla]

I can remember first seeing these in Theo’s 2007 Ted Talk. I must have drawn than linkage about 10,000 times over the next few years. I always had big dreams of raiding dad’s plumbing supplies to make a version of one.

[arialdomartini]

Beautiful video with an update on the evolutionary development (up to 2021)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97kMKwZ2-g

[rafram]

There is (or was as of recently) a little exhibit on these at the Jewish Museum in NYC of all places. It’s an incredibly cool project.

[Tepix]

In the video there clearly is a line being pulled from the right. Was the wind insufficient that day? It seems like cheating.

[Animats]

Oh, that guy is still at it and has made progress. There's pneumatic logic now and the new model can reverse direction.

[bastawhiz]

I remember watching videos about these maybe two decades ago on MSN TV (an early precursor to video streaming services)

[toolslive]

There have been efforts to use a similar concept to clear out mine fields.