Theo Jansen is a kinetic sculptor, his work resembles creatures who should belong in a Terry Gilliam movie, it is a combination of engineering and art. Jansen studied physics but decided to start painting and then sculpture instead. His kinetic sculpture, which he refers to as animals, or strandbeests rely on wind for power and mainly cheap conduit piping for the construction.
The sculptures were born from a computer program that he designed in which virtual four-legged creatures raced against each other to identify survivors fit enough to reproduce. All of his subsequent creations have been entirely free-form, constructed solely through trial and error.
Each series is a prototype, Jansen uses what he learns from the animals that are most successful to improve the next series.Images don't do justice, be sure to have a look at the film section on Strandbeest, Jansen's 2007 TED talk and Defining Innovation, an advertisement from BMW.
The Jansen Walker pays homage to the work done by Theo Jansen and uses desktop manufacturing to create small electronic walkers. 'This project is heavily influenced by Theo Jansen's natural gearing mechanism, it’s a very efficient mechanical leg design for converting rotary motion into leg movements, and is very elegant in my opinion. The basis is the relative distance of the 12 joins, Jansen calls them "The 12 Holy Numbers".' The files can be downloaded and there is a full set of parts on the 4volt site, or you can donate to get the parts cut and sent as a kit. Via PopTech. Or you could make a wood version and pimp it with solar panels, or even better make a LEGO version, here and here.
More on 3d printing; Makerbot is outsourcing manufacturing of a specific part of their CupCake CNC model; the 608 idler pulley to people who are Makerbot operators. "Demand (for the model) is increasing so fast that we’re ramping up production to be able to ship 50 to 100 bots a month (up from 20 per month). Our next production bottleneck is printing enough pulleys for the kits."
"That is where you, the MakerBot Operator comes in. If you have a MakerBot, then you have the means of production. We want you to take part in our grand experiment in crowdsourced manufacturing. We want you to use your MakerBot to produce the next wave of MakerBots. In essence, we want to distribute pulley manufacturing to you." Makerbot. Via Fabbaloo.
Looks like NASA and Goodyear have reinvented the wheel, or at least the tire. They have developed an airless tire to be used on extra-terrestrial surfaces. The 'spring tire' features 800 load bearing springs and is designed to carry heavy vehicles over much greater distances than the wire mesh tire used on the Apollo lunar roving vehicle. Via DesignBoom.
Treehugger reports that Nissan are working on an induction charging method using the same electromagnetic field technology used to charge an electric toothbrush. Nissan has scaled it up for use in their Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) electric car, which can charge in a compatible parking bay without the need for wires. Nissan has ambitions beyond mere wireless charging bays. It hopes to scale the technology up even further as a series of plates laid into the surface of designated electric vehicle lanes on our roads and motorways, theoretically enabling motorists to charge as they drive.
From Core77, the Prosthetics Project, a prosthetic arm design project from the SVA (School of Visual Arts, New York) graduate class led by Allan Chochinov.
From the Prosthetic Project site, "the students attempted to put a dent in what may arguably be one of the most daunting design challenges imaginable--to design a better prosthetic arm. The students took different approaches to the problem: some attacked it directly with mechanical improvements to existing prosthetics. Others offered devices and garments that introduced alternative modalities or provided new functionality. Some students took a more abstract approach, creating formal, often sculptural, gestures as a way to help us think about the notion of 'prosthetic,' while others took an extremely conceptual approach to investigating the paradigms and cultures around prosthetics and amputees. Many of the projects were targeted at kids, arguing that there may be wider leeway in what would be deemed acceptable to the user. Some of these push the definitions of function, providing devices that are playful and life-affirming. The more sobering investigations in the group try to address the realities of arm amputees--as much as is possible by designers with both limbs."
Great research being done by Portigal Consulting; Reading Ahead is a design research project to explore the evolution of books, and reading. The research will be exploring the evolution of reading and books from a consumer perspective–what it means to be a reader, how artifacts from traditional books to devices like Amazon’s Kindle affect the experience, and what the future might hold for readers, product developers, and beyond leading towards a full presentation of findings, opportunities, and design concepts.
