ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Theo Jansen - Artist
Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist who builds walking kinetic sculptures that he calls a new form of life. His "Strandbeests" walk the coastline of Holland, feeding on wind and fleeing from water.

Why you should listen

Dutch artist Theo Jansen has been working for 16 years to create sculptures that move on their own in eerily lifelike ways. Each generation of his "Strandbeests" is subject to the forces of evolution, with successful forms moving forward into new designs. Jansen's vision and long-term commitment to his wooden menagerie is as fascinating to observe as the beasts themselves.

His newest creatures walk without assistance on the beaches of Holland, powered by wind, captured by gossamer wings that flap and pump air into old lemonade bottles that in turn power the creatures' many plastic spindly legs. The walking sculptures look alive as they move, each leg articulating in such a way that the body is steady and level. They even incorporate primitive logic gates that are used to reverse the machine's direction if it senses dangerous water or loose sand where it might get stuck.

More profile about the speaker
Theo Jansen | Speaker | TED.com
TED2007

Theo Jansen: My creations, a new form of life

Theo Jansen inventa novas criaturas

Filmed:
5,281,069 views

O artista Theo Jansen demonstra as incríveis esculturas cinéticas biossimilares que ele constrói com tubos pásticos e garrafas PET. Suas criaturas são concebidas para se locomover -- e mesmo sobreviver -- sozinhas.
- Artist
Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist who builds walking kinetic sculptures that he calls a new form of life. His "Strandbeests" walk the coastline of Holland, feeding on wind and fleeing from water. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:25
I would like to tell you about a project
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Eu gostaria de lhes mostrar um projeto
00:29
which I started about 16 years ago,
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que eu comecei 16 anos atrás,
00:33
and it's about making new forms of life.
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trata-se de criar novas formas de vida.
00:37
And these are made of this kind of tube --
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E elas são feitas desta espécie de tubo --
00:41
electricity tube, we call it in Holland.
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tubo de eletricidade, chamamos na Holanda
00:44
And we can start a film about that,
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-- podemos começar o filme
00:48
and we can see a little bit backwards in time.
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e podemos ver um pouco de volta no tempo.
00:52
(Video) Narrator: Eventually, these beasts are going to live in herds on the beaches.
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Narrador: Um dia estes animais vão viver em manadas nas praias.
00:57
Theo Jansen is working hard on this evolution.
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Theo Jansen está trabalhando duro nesta evolução.
01:02
Theo Jansen: I want to put these forms of life on the beaches.
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Theo Jansen: Eu quero colocar estas formas de vida nas praias.
01:09
And they should survive over there,
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E elas devem sobreviver lá,
01:12
on their own, in the future.
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por si mesmas, no futuro.
01:16
Learning to live on their own --
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Aprendendo a sobreviver sozinhas,
01:19
and it'll take couple of more years to let them walk on their own.
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e ainda vai demorar mais alguns anos para fazê-las caminharem sozinhas.
01:30
Narrator: The mechanical beasts will not get their energy from food, but from the wind.
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Narrador: Os animais mecânicos não vão obter energia de comida, mas do vento.
01:35
The wind will move feathers on their back, which will drive their feet.
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O vento vai mover penas nas suas costas, que vão impulsionar seus pés.
01:38
The beast walks sideways on the wet sand of the beach,
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O animal anda de lado na areia úmida da praia,
01:42
with its nose pointed into the wind.
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com seu nariz apontado para o vento.
01:47
As soon as it walks into either the rolling surf or the dry sand, it stops,
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Assim que ele atinge tanto as ondas quanto a areia seca, ele pára,
01:52
and walks in the opposite direction.
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e caminha na direção oposta.
01:57
Evolution has generated many species.
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A evolução produziu muitas espécies.
02:14
This is the Animaris Currens Ventosa.
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Este é o Animaris Currens Ventosa.
02:27
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
02:35
TJ: This is a herd, and it is built according to genetical codes.
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Jansen: Esta é uma manada, e é construída de acordo com códigos genéticos,
02:42
And it is a sort of race, and each and every animal is different,
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e é uma espécie de corrida, e todos os animais são diferentes entre si,
02:46
and the winning codes will multiply.
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e os códigos vencedores vão se multiplicar.
02:49
This is the wave, going from left to right. You can see this one.
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Esta é a onda, indo da esquerda para a direita, como podem ver.
02:58
And now it goes from -- yes, now it goes from left to right.
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E agora vai da -- sim, agora vai da esquerda para a direita.
03:01
This is a new generation, a new family,
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Esta é uma nova geração, uma nova família,
03:04
which is able to store the winds.
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que é capaz de armazenar o vento.
03:07
So, the wings pump up air in lemonade bottles,
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As asas bombeiam ar em garrafas PET
03:10
which are on top of that.
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que estão no topo delas --
03:12
And they can use that energy in case the wind falls away,
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e eles podem usar a energia caso o vento pare,
03:18
and the tide is coming up, and there is still a little bit of energy
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e a maré chegue, e ainda existirá um pouquinho de energia
03:21
to reach the dunes and save their lives, because they are drowned very easily.
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para chegar às dunas e salvar suas vidas, porque eles se afogam muito fácil.
03:27
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:33
I could show you this animal.
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Posso lhes mostrar este animal.
03:44
(Applause) Thank you.
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(Aplausos) Obrigado.
03:51
So, the proportion of the tubes in this animal is very important for the walking.
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A proporção entre os tubos deste animal é muito importante para o andar.
03:58
There are 11 numbers, which I call the 11 holy numbers.
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Existem 11 números, que eu chamo 11 números sagrados.
04:01
These are the distances of the tubes which make it walk that way.
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São as distâncias entre os tubos que fazem com que ele caminhe daquela forma.
04:06
In fact, it's a new invention of the wheel.
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Na verdade, é uma nova invenção da roda.
04:09
It works the same as a wheel.
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Funciona do mesmo modo que a roda.
04:11
The axis of a wheel is staying on the same level,
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O eixo da roda permanece no mesmo nível,
04:15
and this hip is staying on the same level as well.
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E este quadril também permanece no mesmo nível.
04:18
In fact, this is better than a wheel, because
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Realmente, esta é uma roda melhor, porque
04:21
when you try to drive with your bicycle on the beach,
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quando você tenta andar de bicicleta na praia,
04:25
you will notice it's very hard to do.
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você percebe que é muito difícil.
04:29
And the feet just step over the sand,
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E o pé simplesmente dá um passo sobre a areia,
04:34
and the wheel has to touch every piece of the ground in between.
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enquanto a roda tem de tocar cada trecho do chão.
04:38
So, 5,000 years after the invention of the wheel,
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Então 5000 anos depois da invenção da roda,
04:42
we have a new wheel. And I will show you, in the next video
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temos uma nova roda. E eu vou mostrar no próximo video,
04:46
-- can you start it, please? --
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-- pode começar, por favor? --
04:50
that very heavy loads can be moved.
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que cargas muito pesadas podem ser transportadas.
04:55
There's a guy pushing there, behind,
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Existe um homem empurrando ali atrás,
04:59
but can also walk on the wind very well.
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mas poderia andar com o vento também.
05:02
It's 3.2 tons.
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Tem 3.2 toneladas.
05:04
And this is working on the stored winds in the bottles.
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E este está funcionando com o vento armazenado nas garrafas.
05:14
It has a feeler, where it can feel obstacles and turn around.
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Ele tem um sensor com o qual pode perceber obstáculos e dar a volta.
05:18
And that stuff, you see, is going to it the other way.
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E esta coisa, vejam, está indo para o outro lado.
05:31
Can I have the feeler here?
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Pode me trazer o sensor aqui?
05:38
OK. Good.
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OK. Perfeito.
05:43
So, they have to survive all the dangers of the beach,
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Então, eles têm de sobreviver a todos os perigos da praia,
05:48
and one of the big dangers is the sea. This is the sea.
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e um dos grandes perigos é o mar. Este é o mar.
05:51
And it must feel the water of the sea.
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E ele precisa sentir a água do mar.
05:56
And this is the water feeler.
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E este é o sensor de água.
05:58
And what's very important is this tube. It sucks in air normally,
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E o mais importante é este tubo. Ele suga ar normalmente,
06:05
but when it swallows water, it feels the resistance of it.
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mas quando ele suga água, ele sente a resistência dela.
06:10
So imagine that the animal is walking towards the sea.
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Então imagine que o animal está andando para o mar.
06:18
As soon as it touches the water, you should hear a sort of sound of running air.
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Assim que ele toca a água você deve ouvir um som de ar correndo.
06:32
Yes! So if it doesn't feel, it will be drowned, OK?
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Isso! Se ele não sentir, ele vai se afogar, OK?
06:47
Here, we have the brain of the animal.
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Aqui está o cérebro do animal.
06:51
In fact, it is a step counter, and it counts the steps.
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Na verdade, é um contador de passos, conta os passos.
06:55
It's a binary step counter.
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É um contador de passos binário.
06:57
So as soon it has been to the sea,
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Assim que ele sente o mar,
07:00
it changes the pattern of zeroes and ones here,
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ele muda os padrões de zeros e uns aqui,
07:07
and it knows always where it is on the beach. So it's very simple brain.
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e sabe sempre onde está na praia. Portanto é um cérebro bem simples.
07:14
It says, well, there's the sea, there are dunes, and I'm here.
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Ele diz, lá está o mar, lá estão as dunas, e eu estou aqui.
07:18
So it's a sort of imagination of the simple world of the beach animal.
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É uma espécie de imaginação do mundo simples do animal da praia.
07:23
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
07:26
One of the biggest enemies are the storms.
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Um dos grandes inimigos é a tempestade.
07:34
This is a part of the nose of the Animaris Percipiere,
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Isto é uma parte do nariz do Animaris Percipiere,
07:39
and when the nose is fixed -- of the animal -- the whole animal is fixed.
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e quando o nariz do animal está fixo, o animal inteiro está fixo.
07:46
So when the storm is coming up,
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Assim, quando a tempestade está vindo,
07:54
it drives a pin into the ground. (Laughter)
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ele crava um pino na terra. (Risos)
08:00
And the nose is fixed, the whole animal is fixed.
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E o nariz está fixo, o animal inteiro está fixo.
08:02
The wind may turn, but the animal will turn always its nose into the wind.
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O vento pode mudar, mas o animal vai sempre virar seu nariz contra o vento.
08:10
Now, another couple of years, and these animals will survive on their own.
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Em mais alguns anos, estes animais vão sobreviver sozinhos.
08:15
I still have to help them a lot.
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Eu ainda preciso ajudá-los muito.
08:17
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
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Muito obrigado, senhoras e senhores.
08:19
(Applause).
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(Aplausos).

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Theo Jansen - Artist
Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist who builds walking kinetic sculptures that he calls a new form of life. His "Strandbeests" walk the coastline of Holland, feeding on wind and fleeing from water.

Why you should listen

Dutch artist Theo Jansen has been working for 16 years to create sculptures that move on their own in eerily lifelike ways. Each generation of his "Strandbeests" is subject to the forces of evolution, with successful forms moving forward into new designs. Jansen's vision and long-term commitment to his wooden menagerie is as fascinating to observe as the beasts themselves.

His newest creatures walk without assistance on the beaches of Holland, powered by wind, captured by gossamer wings that flap and pump air into old lemonade bottles that in turn power the creatures' many plastic spindly legs. The walking sculptures look alive as they move, each leg articulating in such a way that the body is steady and level. They even incorporate primitive logic gates that are used to reverse the machine's direction if it senses dangerous water or loose sand where it might get stuck.

More profile about the speaker
Theo Jansen | Speaker | TED.com