© Theo Jansen
On dutch beaches, there is a beach monster that grows up eating wind and grows plastic muscles!
Don't be nervous, they are not the vanguard sent by the aliens, but the more than 40 bionic beasts that artist Theo Jansen spent 30 years creating.
Unexpectedly, in addition to engineers, artists can also use non-intelligent parts to create sophisticated and even "smart" bionic devices.
Hopefully, this recommendation will give you a little more imagination about the relationship between silicon-based organisms and carbon-based organisms, between humans as living beings and so-called "inanimate organisms.".
Bionic beasts
STRANDBEEST
Strandbeest
by Theo Jansen
A behemoth walks slowly along the beach, and when the water turns back, the wind will stop. Strandbeest (Literal Dutch for "Beach Beast") is a series of large-scale unpowered units created by Dutch artist Theo Jansen using simple materials such as plastic tubes, tape, and plastic bottles.
Since about 30 years ago, every spring, there have always been a group of strangely shaped monsters on the beaches of the Dutch North Sea.
Once the wind blows, the unimaginable miracle of life happens at this moment - these behemoths born in winter finally wake up from their slumber, follow the sea breeze, and take a dreamy step.
The exquisite science and utopian romance of these beach bionic beasts is 100% inherited from their creator, Dutch artist Theo Jansen.
Theo Jansen and his bionic beast
In the eyes of Theo Jansen
They were children he had created
It didn't take long for me to let them live independently.
The image of the beach beasts is very similar to the moving castle of the Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki, who will stop whenever they walk on uneven roads or dry sand, and then walk in the opposite direction. They will avoid obstacles and puddles, encounter storms, and know how to anchor themselves by piling, neither drowning nor being blown away by the wind.
Their goal: to save Holland!
SAVE THE NETHERLANDS
You may not imagine that this group of eccentric bionic beasts was originally created by Theo to save the Netherlands.
The beach beast was inspired by the global greenhouse effect in 1990, when much of the Netherlands was already below sea level.
So Theo Jansen decided to create a wind-powered beach species to draw attention to the problem, intending to be completed before the autumn rainy season, but it was not expected that this research would be 30 years.
They don't need food, and are driven by wind energy to roam the beach, constantly turning over the sand and forming dunes to block the sea. Within a year, the Dutch coast could be very different!
The coast of the Netherlands contains the majestic power of wind and sand, and Jansen's creation of "artificial life" makes perfect use of the advantages of the environment – the power structure is driven by wind. Over the course of more than thirty years of evolution, his bionic beasts were also able to store air pressure in order to use as a driving force in the absence of wind.
You jog a little bit to run!
Beach Bionic Beast Full Revealed!
EXPOSE
God created all living things in one day, and It took Theo Jansen 30 years to create the Beach Bionic Beast
Inspired by nature's gifts, Theo Jansen used the theory of biological evolution to install sail drives for these prehistoric creature-like behemoths, fed by natural wind energy, and drove them to walk; to use the water bottle as its "lungs", releasing the air stored in the bottle as a power when there was no wind, and boosting the bionic beast back to safety; and the "spine" device balanced and coordinated its travel stability. These "living states" are simply made up of PVC tubes, canvas and recyclable materials.
In order for the bionic beast to walk smoothly, the precise proportions of the tubes are crucial. It operates on the same operating mechanism as a normal wheel, with the wheel's shaft resting on the same level and the hip also resting on the same level. The inductors added to the feet can sense obstacles and avoid them.
"The wall between art and engineering exists only in our minds. I was as fascinated by them as I was by any complex life, they were as beautiful as nature. Theo Jansen hopes that this population, which is based on the genetic code to store wind energy, will be able to live independently in the future in his constant intervention evolution.
useful? Useless?
After reading the mysteries of the bionic beasts, do you now believe that they are real living beings?
No matter what others thought, Theo believed it. He insisted that his bionic beast was not a tool invention, but a whole new form of life.
I think you must be wondering, why spend a huge amount of effort to make these "useless" things?
Theo has answered this question on different occasions, but sorry, the answer is, there is no answer.
In his opinion, the bionic beast was the same as all creatures of nature. You wouldn't ask, what is the use of a flower opening? What is the value of a bird's song?
Every time people ask me what motivates me to do all this, I always say that life itself is calling me. We often forget that the very existence of life is a miracle.
Discovering and creating a miracle is a beautiful thing in itself, so why can't it be done all the time?
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Spending a lifetime doing something that no one understands seems really weird.
But is it strange that Theo, or are we, who are always taught to do the right, reasonable, useful things, and measure everything in this light?
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