Create mesmerizing designs in the sand with this Arduino-controlled Zen table!
![](http://blog.oniudra.cc/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Untitled-1.png)
A sandbox game generally refers to an open world computer simulation, but Tim Callinan’s fall semester project takes things in a different direction—an actual sandbox controlled by an Arduino and gShield.
Callinan’s Zen table is capable of producing complicated designs in the sand, using a single steel marble that appears to magically move across the surface by itself.
![](http://blog.oniudra.cc/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Screen-Shot-2018-12-27-at-1.25.17-PM.png)
Underneath the sand assembly is a stepper-controlled gantry that acts like a laser cutter or other CNC tool, dragging the marble around with a powerful magnet. The results are stars, rotating squares, and other kaleidoscopic patterns, beautifully edge-lit with a series of RGB LEDs.
Several other classmates were involved in making this build a reality, including Mark Morello, who wired and programmed the device.