Arduino-controlled robot arm is ready to play you in a game of chess

If you’re tired of playing chess on a screen, then perhaps you could create a robotic opponent like Instructables user Michalsky. The augmented board runs micro-Max source code, enabling chess logic to be executed on an Arduino Mega with room for control functions for a 6DOF robotic arm.

The setup uses magnetic pieces, allowing it to pick up human moves via an array of 64 reed switches underneath, along with a couple shift registers. The Mega powers the robot arm accordingly, lifting the appropriate piece and placing it on the correct square.

You can get a look at the project, with gameplay demonstration, in Michalsky’s video below.