Check-M.A.T.E

A Mechanically Articulated Tabletop Experience

Overview

Check-M.A.T.E is an automated chessboard that bridges the gap between online and physical chess. This project integrates a hardware abstraction layer and control with an intuitive UI for seamless interaction.

How It Works

1. Piece Detection: Hall effect sensors detect the position of chess pieces on the board.
2. Move Validation: The chess backend validates moves using python-chess and updates the game state.
3. Piece Movement: Stepper motors, driven by a custom build of grbl, move pieces to their new positions via the electromagnet on the end-effector.
4. Piece Identification: An NFC reader identifies pieces.
5. Chess Engine Integration: Stockfish provides moves for single-player games.

System Overview

Features

• Finite State Machine Frontend
• Chess backend
• Custom screens and widgets
• Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ryanbrown919/CHECKMATE.git

# Navigate to project directory
cd CHECKMATE

# Install dependencies
pip install kivy chess berserk lgpio pyserial

Usage

1. Connect your Raspberry Pi 5 to required peripherals
2. Run the main application:

   python checkmate.py

3. Access the UI through the connected display

Project Structure

CHECKMATE/
├── assets/         # Images/figures
├── bin/            # Stockfish binary
├── firmware        # Sense board firmware
├── checkmate/      # Application
├── test/           # Unit tests
└── checkmate.py    # Entry Point