Goggle for Francois Junod to see a contemporary example of a writing automaton. His work is amazing!
Also, have a look at Ellen Rixford's wonderful book, Figures in the Fourth Dimension. She devotes 30 pages to the details of Henri Maillardet's writing and drawing automaton from the early 1800's. Yes, that's not contemporary, but the details of how it works would help you understand any recent work in the same vein.