Why not just build a robot to create the perfect Zen garden in miniature? That was what [Tim Callinan] and his classmates did for a semester project, and the “ZenXY” sand plotter was the result.

These components are considered among the most important aspects of zen gardens. Stones, gravel, and sand symbolize the ... borrow these ideas to convert an indoor spot into a meditative corner.

[Nick] is working on a prototype of a coffee table sand plotter that draws patterns in sand a lot like a zen rock garden. [Nick]’s zen rock garden uses a magnet to draw a ball bearing across ...