theo jansen's animarae adulari strandbeest has a pivoting neck

‘animarae adulari’ – the latest iteration as part of theo jansen’s ‘strandbeests’
image courtesy the artist

since 1990 dutch artist/engineer theo jansen has been working on his self-sufficient beach creatures known as ‘strandbeest’ –
artificial animals that survive on nothing more than wind. jansen divides his different generations of ‘strandbeests’ into time periods
like geologic eras and has sent designboom footage of the latest iteration he has been working on over the summer – the ‘animarae adulari’ –
which now have wagging necks.

the self-propelling beach beasts are made entirely from a scaffolding of recycled bottles and plastic tubing,
with the flasks pumped to a high pressure by air, requiring no electronics. these ‘pumps’ are driven by wings at the fore of the large-scale
critter that flap in the breeze, and after a few hours the bottles become full and are now a supply of potential ‘food’. jansen has re-conceived
the idea of the axis, and developed ‘muscles’ that respond through lengthening and shortening according to the reserve of air.

when the air moves from the bottles through a small pipe in the tube it pushes a piston outwards and the ‘muscle’ elongates.
this action then open taps to activate other muscles – this behavior repeats – which creates control centers that can be likened to brains.
the process allows the intelligent animals to support themselves, as well as a mechanism in place stopping them from drowning themselves by
integrating hoses that react to being blocked by water – telling them to move away from the sea. jansen hopes to eventually
achieve complete autonomy for future species, with the ‘animarae adulari’ one step closer – fostering a herd of ever-evolving
living things to roam the sandy dunes.

the ‘animara gubernare” jumping over fluffy sand
video courtesy the artist

‘animaris gubernare’, an earlier generation
image courtesy the artist

‘rhino strandbeest’, an earlier generation
image courtesy the artist

‘rhino’
image courtesy the artist

‘ventosa’
image courtesy the artist

the artist with one of his creations
image courtesy the artist

detailing of the structure
image courtesy the artist

’65’
image courtesy the artist