This project was inspired by Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. At the end of the book, the three heroes must save the day by completing a series of dangerous tasks, one of which is winning a violent game of wizard chess. In the Harry Potter series, wizard chess is played exactly like the traditional game, with the exception that, when instructed, the pieces come alive and move on their own. The goal of the group’s project is to build a voice-controlled chess board to allow fans of the series, avid chess players and those with limited upper-body mobility to play the game hands-free and feel as if they are in the magical world of Harry Potter.
The goal of the group’s project is to build a voice-controlled chess board that will move pieces autonomously. Using a microphone, the user can activate the chess board by saying the key phrase, “Wizard Chess”, followed by a command. The key phrase recognition uses an offline library called Snowboy, while the command speech recognition uses the online Google speech recognition. Upon receiving a command, the board will then use its built-in track system, which can move in both X and Y directions, to hold a magnet to the selected piece and move it to the desired location. The machine must be plugged into an outlet for power and connected to Wi-fi for command recognition. This project will allow up to two people to play a full game of chess using only their voices, which creates a more accessible and enjoyable user experience for those with disabilities or limited movement.
The final report and final video can be found as pdf / mp4 files titled "FINALCHESS".
Pictures of the construction of the board and the final product presented at the CISC/CMPE 325 showcase can been seen below.
