标签: mechanical engineers

As we are all aware, it's not the size of your wind walker that matters, it's what you do with it that count. Before I introduce my Mini Wind Walker (and it's not often you hear someone say that), first let me give you a little background. Theo Jansen (born in 1948) is a Dutch artist who has become famous for creating kinetic sculptures that resemble skeletons of animals and that are able to walk on sandy beaches using the wind as a source of power. In fact I've mentioned these creations in a previous blog, but now I have my own (more about this in a moment). Theo calls his creatures "Strandbeests" . I just used Google Translate to discover that this is Dutch for "Sea Creatures" , but I personally think of these beauties as "Wind Walkers" . As an aside, I LOVE Google Translate. I was reading Around the World in Eighty Days by Michael Palin yesterday evening and there were numerous occasions when the combination of my iPad, Google Translate, and Google Earth proved invaluable for keeping track of what was going on. But we digress... Although Theo's original creations were somewhat rudimentary, they have evolved into "creatures" that are able to react to their environment. As he says "Over time, these skeletons have become increasingly better at surviving the elements such as storms and water and eventually I want to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives." Constructed as intricate assemblages of piping, wood, and wing-like sails, Theo's creatures are constantly evolving. Some of the creatures are able to store air pressure and use it to drive them in the absence of wind: "Self-propelling beach animals like Animaris Percipiere have a stomach. This consists of recycled plastic bottles containing air that can be pumped up to a high pressure by the wind." Theo's more sophisticated creations are able to detect once they have entered the water and walk away from it, and one species will even anchor itself to the earth if it senses a storm approaching. These creatures really are rather beautiful. The full-size ones are also very impressive. I would love to see a herd of these walking around on the beach. Before we proceed to discuss my Mini Wind Walker, take a look at this YouTube video from a British television program on unusual inventions. You must admit that these beasts are rather amazing. But the really amazing thing is that I am now the proud possessor of one of my own. A week or so ago I received a somewhat cryptic email saying "Beware, a bug is on its way to you," from my friend Adam in California. When I was younger I would have asked questions about this message. As the years have gone by, however, I've come to the conclusion that it's often better to live in ignorance (a state of being that I'm coming close to perfecting). I soon forgot about Adam's email until, just a couple of days ago as I pen these words, a mysterious package arrived. When I unwrapped it, I discovered a box containing a Mini Strandbeest.       I quickly opened the box to find a positive plethora of plastic parts. I must admit that this looked a little daunting, even though everything was nicely presented in little plastic bags.     Fortunately I had a sharp X-Acto knife close to hand (doesn't everyone?), so it didn't take long until I had separated all of the parts from their plastic frames and organized them in nice, neat piles (at this stage I still felt like I was in control of things).       I must admit to having a moment of panic when I unfolded the (very large) sheet of instructions to discover that everything was in some Asian language...     ... but then I reversed the page to find the equivalent instructions in English (Phew!) The way the full-size creatures are constructed is amazing, but this model is also incredibly impressive. The various pieces connect together using extremely clever joints that are beyond my ability to describe here. In the image below we see the first dual leg assembly (this is one of six leg assemblies attached to one of two crank-shafts).       I don't know how long it took to assemble the full beast. It might have been one hour, but it could easily have been two or three. Time simply passed as I happily connected "foot bones to shin bones to knee bones to thigh bones to..." until eventually I had completed the little scamp.     The final result is very impressive. The propeller is geared down to the extent that you can gently blow and the beast will start to walk. In fact, I brought it into work and foolishly rested it on the roof of my car while I was grabbing my backpack; a gust of wind came and the little rascal made a break for freedom (I only just caught it before it jumped off my car into the bushes). In this video , you can see me playing with the first set of legs on their own, and then the full beast walking (one of the guys in the office used a small fan to provide a constant wind). The articulation of the legs is so sophisticated that you can watch this little scamp walk for ages without ever getting tired of it. There are several mechanical engineers in my office building and the word has quickly spread. They have all come to see my Mini Wind Walker and they are all completely blown away by its mechanical elegance. I have to say that I am very, VERY impressed...