There are inventions that are due to innovations or due to sheer necessity, yet, there are some inventions that defy the natural thinking of scientists.There are some inventors who not only think different, but their inventions re also something unique.In that context, I'm going to present you with two very different inventions that many of us wouldn't have even dreamed of, and their inventors are nothing less than artists, who had an exemplary vision of the future.

The first invention we are going to see, is called by it's inventor as Stranded beasts.When you hear that a machine, is working on it's own,and you are asked what are the things that it might contain, the immediate answer will be metal, motors, chips with programmed memory in it(sometimes the image of a robot you saw in a film flashes before your eyes).But this invention is nothing close to what you think.Let me give you some of the more common features- this invention can walk, it has many legs, it is self powered, it cannot see, yet it can successfully navigate and it is built in various sizes and shapes.These would obviously lead to the conclusion that a robot, that contains some kind of solar panel, and a radar or sonar mounted, can walk without cameras, but detect things using sound waves.You are wrong again!.This invention doesn't have a programed chip, doesn't contain any solar panels or motors, there is NO ELECTRONICS involved in it, and better yet, there is no metal involved too!.Astonishing isn't it!.

The creator of this Stranded beast is Theo Jansen, he was born in 1948 in Netherlands.He is a Dutch artist and what people call himn, a kinetic sculptor.He is able to create large things, which resemble huge insects and sometimes the skeleton of animals.These are not just sculptures, they can move!.With the help of wind energy, along the beaches of Netherland, this man has enables all mechanical, all natural beast like things, to walk on their own!.His works are peices of art and innovations in engineering, it's more like a fusion of both, that resulted in a spectacular invention.He says that people believe that there is a vast difference between engineering and art, because they believe so, it's due to a virtual wall between the two in their minds.And he has proven them all, wrong .i.e. art and engineering can be combined to create fascinating things.

He was studying physics, but he soon got interested in the field of arts.Leaving his studies in physics, he began his artistic career in the 70s .Initially a painter, he soon found himself exploring the fields of robotics and aeronautical sciences.He had created some intriguing machines, one of them is a "painting machine",which is a robot, that could paint graffiti on walls.These inventions showed that he had the his skill to apply his engineering knowledge in different artistic ways.It has been fifteen years since Theo Jansen has tried to create a new form of life. His "Strand beast" looks so organic in shape,that from a distance they could be mistaken for huge insects.They are made not from modern materials like carbon fiber or fibre glass, but from flexible plastic tubes and adhesive tape.

His initial works were simulations of his ideas using computer.These inventions he has created so far, do not require engines, sensors or any other type of advanced technology in order to walk.They move only using the kinetic energy from the wind and the wet sand of beaches, enable them to move with greater friction.Janson has a laboratory in Ypenburg, he studies the history of biological evolution so that he could apply the concepts to his creations, to enable them to do more things than just walk.He has a dream of creating groups of such Stranded beasts and they will be fully autonomus, from moving to protecting themselves.

This first time you see these stranded beasts, you get astonished and amazed, trying to think how one could possibly create something that can move without any electronics and be autonomous without any programming, but his ideas and inventions were in the dark, since people were so much occupied with the modern electronic age, where you can have a music player the size of half of your thumb!.Since his inventions is not very flashy and it did not use any high tech gadgets, it failed to get attention initially.That was until a few years ago, his ideas and design was recognised and he is being praised for his work.Remember I mentioned about his creations first being simulated in labs? well,Jansen's creatures are first simulated in a computer,in the virtual arena, he studies the working of all the simulations and the best and efficient of the design is then made as a real time model with light and flexible tubes, nylon thread and adhesive tape.He then uses what he calls DNA (the details of what made the creatures efficient) of one generation of beasts to create new generation of beasts,only much improved.

Through this kind of approach, he has successfully created some creatures that can actually respond to some natural dangers.Animaris Sabulosa( wired name isn't it?) one of his creations can actually anchor itself to the sand, by hammering it's nose to the ground, when it detects that the winds are too strong.i.e. a storm may be approaching the coasts.He is so successful in his designs that he is actually working on seventh generation of such creatures. One of his creations which he calls Animaris Percipiere has a stomach!.Why does it need a stomach?, to store wind.It uses recycled bottles(many number of bottles) to compress and store air, which can be used for various purposes-from helping the animal to move to detection of atmosphere.For compression of the air, it uses something that resembles our muscle system.Thus he is actually trying to create some kind of physical resemblance and a kind of control center that can trigger other air compression systems to perform any other operation.Some of his creations can actually change the direction of it's movement when it detects any obstruction in it's path.His newest creation is called Animaris Rhinozeros, it is very huge and can carry people around and an advancement- it can go to places, where there is no sand and no wind.How? due to the stored air system Theo Janson has built using soda bottles!.

He has already started a revolution in design and engineering and he is hopeful that he can one day evolve these creations to a point from which they can develop on their own, without the need for his help.

Videos of stranded beast

Now we move on to the next invention.You might have heard of a thin display, a large display, fold-able displays even.But not the revolution is spherical display.That's right not just a circular one(2D) but a spherical one(3D). But the amazing thing about the principle behind the display is that is uses only 2D array of lights.Then you must be wondering how can a 2D array of light be used for a 3D display?. That's where the amazing part is!.

This invention is the result of combined work of a father and his son.The name of the inventor is James N Sears, His father is Ron Sears.They call their invention-The orb.In his Blogs,James N Sears has quoted that a similar idea was proposed, before him, only that it wasn't implemented.His blog says that a man named Buckminister Fuller, wanted to construct, what he called the Geoscope.He wanted it to be 200 foot in diameter and wanted it to be suspended in the East river,in full view of the UN.Why was his idea never implemented? well he proposed his ideas in the year 1962, when the modern day electronics and computers were only starting their first steps and no one wanted to put manpower and wealth into a thing that might not be functional at that time.

Let's quickly move on to the working of this invention.As mentioned before, this invention is capable of creating spherical displays.But with a two dimensional arrangement of lights.So what creates 3D display? well the 2D array of light is actually arranged in a circular fashion and this arrangement rotates so fast that to you eye, it looks like one continuous spherical display.But in practical, it's only an illusion of circular lights spinning at very high RPM.So far they have managed to display images but they are moving on to relay video on to the display.

To understand the working better, we need to consider the stages in which the Orb was developed.Initially the Idea was to mount a circular array of lights, over a shaft, that would rotate at high RPM.He made the frame, the circuitry all by himself and tested the Orb for first time, in 2006.since the circuitry along with the lights(LED) are going to be rotating, they had to find a way to mount the electronics, that would rotate along with the frame.But here is the challenge- how will you create a circuitry, that is going to be rotating while maintaining electrical contact?.Well a circuit needs power, not only through copper wires, it can also be any other conducting metal contact.Since they had found a way to make this rotating circuitry happen, it was time to put on the lights and do the initial testing, they experimented with different arrangement of lights in the frame, that when rotated, produced patterns of 3D display.

It was in the end of 2006(in december) that the Orb, finally took shape.The circuitry was complete,along with the full set of LEDs and the rotating shaft.The initial tests were done, using micro controllers, that which did not display images but merely patterns, made using different pattern algorithms.They were to move on to the next big part- i.e. to enable the machine to display image.

But before moving on, let's understand, how it is able to produce images in 3D spherical display.The light array, changes color, while it is spinning at a high RPM.Since we can't keep track of the spinning, the fast changing lights and the spinning, together give us the illusion of a continuous image-a spherical image.But it is actually a 2D light array, rotating spherically.To understand it, in simple words, the light array, changes light pattern for every degree of rotation so at 360 degrees , it displays the first pattern again, hence by fast rotation, we get continuous picture.

See this video [This will help you understand better]

This one also

By the year 2007(in January, the orb had been programed to display image, it showed the image of a rotating earth.The initial design-the orb was made with fewer LED and the were large too, so the clarity of the image being displayed was very much limited.With the success of the initial design,they wanted to make a bigger orb, with increased resolution, so the original design was revamped.This time a circular PCB was employed, hence made the circuitry more simple.And the PCB allowed hassle free solution for setting up the Orb.

This is also an improved version in terms of capabilities, it not only can create a single spherical display, but can combine an inset of light arrangement to created distinctive patterns.Also it's memory has been improved, providing the ability to relay higher resolution(the improvement in image clarity is visible in the image below).

Since the success of the invention, the concept and the device had visited a lot of local and international science fairs and conferences.It was even featured in the 2007 conference of TED.

Thinking different, has a new meaning these days, since around us we see a lot of things, that have already been invented and already being improved.So when you think, what could be something new that can be invented? well think again!. There is always room for something new!.