Holy Walking Tinker Toy Batman
Theo Jansen describes his creations as a new form of life. His work is remarkably ingenious, and has characteristics that could be compared to basic forms of life. They have mobility, energy gathering and storage, memory, and even basic senses. They are designed to react to specific stimulus with specific actions, so you could say they have instinctive behavior. But to call them a new life form raises an interesting philosophical question; what is the definition of life?
I would say the most basic requirement to qualify something as living would be the ability to reproduce itself. The smallest single cell organism can accomplish the amazing feet of reproduction. So far, man made objects have fallen short of that capability. We can copy life, and even modify it, but we do not seem to be able to create new forms of it… Yet.
I look forward to seeing what else Theo comes up with.