Theo Jansen, is an artist and kinetic sculptor, lives and works in Holland. Born in 1948 in Scheveningen, The Netherlands. He studied physics at the University of Delft from 1968, which he left in 1975 and becomes a painter. In 1981 he developed a paint machine in Delft. In 1990 he developed the Animaris (beach animals), dedicating himself to designing a "new nature". Build large figures imitating skeletons of animals that are able to walk using the wind force of Dutch beaches. His works are a fusion of art and engineering. In a BMW ad, Jansen said: "The barriers between art and engineering exist only in our minds."
Jansen is dedicated to creating artificial life through the use of genetic algorithms. These programs have evolution within their code. Genetic algorithms can be modified to solve a variety of problems including circuit designs, and in the case of Theo Jansen's creations, very complex systems. A certain criterion of aptitude is inserted in the algorithm; Theo selects as criteria that they survive on the beach moving between the borders of wet sand near the sea and dry sand on the edge of the dunes. Those designs that have the best performance in the task, within a simulation of the environment, will be hybridized and tested again. Over time, complex designs emerge that unfold and flap in the breeze, pressing organs that look like 2-liter plastic bottles.
They also sprout articulated legs that move through the sand like those of crabs. Theo uses plastic pipes for electrical conduits to build some of the most promising computer designs. And then he releases them on the beach, evaluates their achievements and improves them. The Theo Jansen Mechanism is a didactic way to understand and demonstrate the kinetics of a rigid body, since it allows to know the position and exact adjustment of each piece so that the movement occurs with fluidity. Taking as reference the movement of a spider when moving, a prototype is created that fulfills the same function, with a simple motor which drives the mechanism through the action of air.
