How to build a chess playing robot counterpart for yourself

The Project

Robots can now even play chess on your behalf! And all you need to do so is three pieces of technology. Before you can play against a mechanical adversary, you need to get hold of a sensory chess board (which would tell a computer about your move), a 'chess engine' to generate the response, and a robot arm to move the pieces.

1st/

Difficulty Level: Moderate

You may need to brush up on your Physics lessons before building this opponent. While a chess-playing robot sounds very cool, this is not a task for the faint-hearted.

Take care that each chess piece has a magnet embedded in its bottom to trigger the reed switches. Keep in mind that every piece on one side of the board should have the same polarity, and the other side the opposite one.

Estimated Cost

This entire project might cost you a cool $ 350, depending on where you get your parts from. Now let us find out how one can make this robot.

Resources Required:

1 Arduino Uno or Diecimila

1 Arduino Mega

1 Mux ShieldMotor Shield

1 Large chess board with pieces

64 NO Reed Switches

16 10K 1/4 Watt Resistors

Roughly 90 feet of 30 AWG Wire

Neodymium Magnets to fit your pieces

1 Large Neodymium Magnet

2 Pairs of 24" Drawer Bearings

2 Stepper Motors

2 Vex Rack and Gear Sets

1 Standard Hobby Servo

1 2'x2' Perf Board

1 2'x2'x1/2" MDF Board

Various lengths of scrap 1"x2" wood

5 Minute Epoxy

1 Wood Saw

Instructions

Design and Explanation

2nd

This project is easily adaptable. How does one build a robotic chess-player? Begin with the drawers - with the help of bearings, the stepper motor can move freely about it's axis. For the Y-axis, each rail is connected to the wooden structure. The X-axis will be fitted on top of this. On the X-axis, the servo raises and lowers the powerful magnet.

Now let's talk about the code that controls the arduino and motors. Each square on the chess board acts as a set of co-ordinates giving you the slope and the distance. You can use standard (x,y) co-ordinates, but they should be a single number. The magnet is attracted to pieces on the chess board above, allowing them to move. Second, embedded in the board are 64 magnetically activated reed switches, allowing the arduino to know the location of each piece.

Mounting the Drawer Bearings (Y-Axis)

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The drawer bearings allow the Y-axis to move in it's respective direction. The mounting instructions may vary depending on the brand.

Building the Motor Mount (Y-Axis):

3rd

Stepper motors have fantastic torque, but are circular. So, mounting them over the bearings at a later point will be difficult, unless we build a square mount. How to build a square mount? - With a hole saw whose diameter is similar to that of your motor. The steppers came with mounting screw holes, and should line up well with the wooden frame.

Epoxy is attached to the gears. Spread some epoxy on the side of the drawer bearing. The bearings get stability in two dimensions Without running off, it enables the gear to travel full length of the board. Install the circular gears onto your motor, they will help in lowering your risk.

Wiring and Mounting the Motor (Y Axis)

As the Arduino is mounted off the board, the wires should be the length of one side. To avoid heat shrinkage of the tubing, use enough power to make it arc-shaped. If the stepper motor has 5 wires, it's fine. However 6 can connect you to center tap. Extend the wire and let the center tap go into the center of one of the motor hub. The wires then moves on from one coil to a terminal on the motor shield, and then to other coil. Make sure the polarity is correct. Attach the bearings after trimming the motor mounting block upto 4 inches. Mix the epoxy, and apply it to the area that would connect the blocks.

Mounting the Drawer Bearing and Rack Gears (X Axis)

The drawer bearings are of Y-axis are again treated in the same way. The mounting screws are attached to the crossbars. Leave some space for one side of the rack gears. It depends which side we want to mount. That's when the motors is placed. Once the job is done glue the sliding machine.

Attaching the Magnet to the Servo (X Axis)

The board pieces are made of metal. The fact remains the arm of the robot underneath the board moves when get gets connected with the magnet. The board tracks piece movements with a magnet. 64 magnetic embedded in the board.

Wiring and Mounting the Motor(X Axis)

The process is same, as we did for the Y-axis. Servo assembly needs to be attached. The servo is mounted as close as it can get in touch of the motor without interfering the gears. By applying wire or a piece of cotton, attach epoxy where the block has to be attached with the servo. While performing this particular job, be careful. Servo should be hold here firmly for few seconds to dry out the things. The servo is mounted, attach motor block with it. Do not glue in sliding machine this time.

Wiring the Sensors

The magnet is attracted to pieces on the chess board above, allowing them to move. Second, embedded in the board are 64 magnetically activated reed switches, allowing the arduino to know the location of each piece.

Code and Final Assembly

4th

The code and assembling of the project is rather simple. Find out for the sensor grid and place the chess board and pieces on top.You can have a look on the above image.

Quick tips:

To make your computer work in one color, place the magnet opposite to the attached servo.

Consider adding a counterweight to make lifting easy if are a bit worried about the torque of your servo.

Things to watch out for:

Make sure that the joints are completely cured. This will help in making your risk factor lesser. Do check the wiring if the project before you is on for the trail.