The Wanderer

Movement is life. From the smallest microbes to the most complex mammals, living beings are driven by an innate urge to move. Whether for survival, exploration, or joy. But can artificial creatures share this drive? What would a bot look like if it, too, was compelled to move—not by necessity, but by instinct?

Analog Creatures That Can’t Stop Moving
In nature, we see creatures that are never truly still: sharks that must swim to breathe, birds that migrate across continents, and insects that ceaselessly explore their surroundings. Inspired by these restless beings, engineers and artists have created bots that move for the sake of movement itself.

One example is the Tensegrity Robot, a lightweight bot made of interconnected rods and cables, designed to roll, bounce, and shift unpredictably. Unlike a wheeled machine programmed for efficiency, it moves organically, responding to terrain in a way that mimics the constant, adaptive motion of living organisms.

Another fascinating creation is Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests, wind-powered kinetic sculptures that walk along beaches on intricate, insect-like legs. These creatures do not require batteries or complex programming—they move simply because they are built to interact with the environment. Their movement is dictated by wind and terrain, much like how animals respond to natural forces.

A third example comes from simple vibrating motors. Bristlebots, tiny robots made from toothbrush heads and motors, skitter around unpredictably. They don’t have a goal, yet they never stop moving, embodying the raw, chaotic energy of restless creatures.

Imagining a New Creature: The Wanderer
If we were to design a bot that truly embodied the restless energy of movement, it would need to be simple yet unpredictable—an entity that moves not to accomplish a task but because movement is its nature.

This bot is powered by a spring mechanism, where a small motor gradually winds up the spring over time. A trigger mechanism then releases the stored energy at random intervals, causing sudden bursts of movement. As a result, the longer the bot remains still, the more energy it builds up, leading to more dynamic movement. Which symbolizes its restless nature.