Eric and Scott's final project for Mechanisms and Things That Move
In the first class of Mechanisms and Things that Move, Dustyn Roberts showed us footage of a magnificent creation as an example of what ingenuity and art can achieve when combined. The man behind these moving creations is Theo Jansen, a kinetic sculptor from the Netherlands. He talks about his thinking here, see " Theo Janson "
Separately, we were impressed by the poetic movement this ingenious contraption had as it crept down a beach powered by only the wind. For our midterms, we set about creating a winged mechanism that mimicked those asymmetrical movements but still had grace.
For our final, we decided to recreate the motion that Jansen perfected, then apply it to a motorized version that floats above a table. After Eric met and spoke with Jansen, we applied some of his methods. What we built was both fun and graceful, an animated prehistoric creature powered by (for now) a cordless drill but with the addition of a drive shaft coupler, a more appropriate power supply will be added.
If at all possible, we'd like to be considered as a late entry for the Spring Show. Theo is very fun to watch and play with. And he is house trained.