Featured Project

# Problem

We are magic engineers. We found the Muggle world too boring! The wizard chess in *Harry Potter* where players move their pieces by vocal command, pieces move and attacks with cool sound effects, and pieces explode when they die must be a lot more fun! Those interesting properties have made wizard chess a favorite among fans of *Harry Potter* in the muggle world. *Harry Potter* fans and chess lovers would like to have a wizard chess set for its collection value and to bring a wonderful experience playing chess.

# Solution Overview

We will implement a chess set analog to the *Wizard's Chess* in *Harry Potter*, where chess pieces are controlled by voice and can move by themselves. Our system consist of an electronic controller, chess pieces and a chessboard with mechanics to move chesspieces.

# Solution Components

## Chessboard and pieces

Our system contains a two-axis Cartesian robot hidden inside the chessboard. It picks up chess pieces with a magnet to move them around. It will move away any blocking pieces when making a move and put them back later.

## Voice input

The voice input consists of an microphone. It accepts voice signals from players and send it to the control.

## Control

We control the mechannical system, track game states and process voice signals with a Raspberry Pi board. The board will be connected to Baidu Cloud voice service to process voice signal. It interprets voice input to generate player moves or use algorithms to make moves. Then it generate signals to control the robot system to move pieces.

# Criterion for Success

Our product should be able to complete chess games repeatedly with 0, 1 or 2 players without the need to move pieces manually. The system accept and interpret vocal commands correctly. The robot can accurately approach a piece and move it to desired location according to the command. It should move other pieces away to make path for a move.