Home▸Engineering & Materials▸Jansen Linkage Strandbeest Walker (2D)

Jansen Linkage Strandbeest Walker (2D)

Interactive 2D simulator of Theo Jansen's 12-bar leg linkage: drive the crank and watch every pivot and bar of the real mechanism draw the characteristic flat-bottomed Jansen foot curve, with multiple legs phased around the crankshaft for a smooth walking gait.

Engineering & Materials2DModerate60 FPS⇄ 3D version

This 2D simulator builds Theo Jansen's actual 12-bar leg mechanism from its published link-length ratios and draws every pivot and bar as the crank turns, tracing the foot's characteristic flat-bottomed "Jansen curve." Toggle auto-rotation or drag the crank-angle slider to step through the cycle frame by frame, add more legs phased evenly around the shared crankshaft to see how the linkage's twitchy individual stride smooths into a continuous multi-legged walking gait, and switch off the full linkage to watch just the silhouette glide the way a real Strandbeest does on the beach.

⚙ Under the hood

Drive the crank of Theo Jansen's real 12-bar leg linkage and watch every pivot and bar trace the characteristic flat-bottomed Jansen curve, with multiple legs phased around the crankshaft for a smooth walking gait.

Jansen LinkageStrandbeest GaitKinematic Mechanism

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install