Disney Research and ETH Zürich have created a robot similar in function and size to a Roomba, capable of drawing incredible designs in the sand.
A bit bigger than a Roomba, Beachbot deploys a rake to manipulate sand and utilizes soft balloon-like wheels in order to not leave any trails or marks around its designs.
Beachbot can draw one of two ways, with the first being controlled remotely by an operator in order to draw random things.
Or, Beachbot can be programmed/pre-loaded to draw a specific design in which it takes care of everything autonomously with an incredible high degree of fluidity and accuracy.
The robot does not have too many applications at the moment, but Beachbot sure would be a fun way to pass time on the beach while attempting to tan.
