102 1848

Theo Jansen´s Mechanism
Dynamics class - final project
A.A. Pacheco

Alvis Jorge, Bello Robert, Castilla Everth, Llinas Fabricio, Portacio Vanessa.
Mechanical engineering department, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia.

ABSTRACT
The objective of this project was the construction and the analysis of the dynamics of an articulated system that is capable of reproducing the movement of Theo Jansen´s Mechanism. Jansen himself is a sculptor who is famous for designing and building robots that simulate the movement of many animals found in nature. A complete analysis of the kinematic chains was performed with the purpose of determining the time evolution of positions, velocities and accelerations that each rigid body in the articulated mechanism has. A kinetic analysis was also included in order of being able to know the magnitudes and orientations of the forces present in each join which help to hold the structure's integrity. A prototype of the mechanism was built by using acrylic as base material for each part of the structure. The whole mechanism was powered by a small electric motor triggered by remote control system.
Keywords: Jansen's mechanism, rigid body dynamics, kinematic of motion, project based learning.