ChessLink is an interactive chess project that bridges physical chess play with digital capabilities through embedded sensors and LED feedback. This repository contains the full open-source code used for the demonstration prototype.
For more inforamtion, view the following links
- YouTube page with video of our project in action: youtube.com/@ChessLink
- Website with additional documentation: linkchess.org
ChessLink integrates hardware sensors with a software application to:
- Detect chess pieces on a physical board using optical sensors
- Provide visual feedback through RGB LEDs
- Process and transmit board state in real-time
- Display the game state digitally
- Microcontrollers: Multiple Arduino Nano boards (regions A, B, C, D)
- Sensors: Phototransistors for piece detection
- Visual Feedback: RGB LEDs (WS2812B) on the edge of each square
- Communication: Serial and I2C interfaces between components
- Firmware: Arduino code for sensor reading and LED control
- Libraries: Custom StickerReader and LEDUtils for hardware interfacing
- Backend: Python application for processing and integrating data from multiple controllers
- Communication: Serial protocol for data transfer
/src- Main source code for the Arduino firmware/lib- Custom libraries for sensor reading and LED control/app- Python application for data processing from board serial/calibration_files- Sensor calibration data for different boards/examples- Example code for different hardware components/visualize- Web visualization components
- PlatformIO: Used for building and uploading firmware
- Arduino Framework: Base framework for microcontroller code
- FastLED: Library for controlling RGB LEDs
- ArduinoJSON: For structured data handling
- PlatformIO CLI or PlatformIO IDE extension for VS Code
- Python 3.x with required packages (see app/requirements.txt)
- Arduino Nano boards
- Clone this repository
- Install required dependencies
- Connect Arduino boards to your computer
- Upload firmware to each board using appropriate environment
- Monitor serial output:
pio device monitor --port /dev/cu.usbserial-130 --baud 9600 - Upload firmware to region D board:
pio run -t upload -e nanoD - Upload firmware to other regions:
pio run -t upload -e nano[A|B|C]
Each region of the chessboard (A-D) is controlled by a separate Arduino Nano, configured through different PlatformIO environments in platformio.ini.
The ChessLink hardware system consists of:
- Sensor Array: Phototransistors detect chess pieces through light reflection
- LED Matrix: RGB LEDs provide visual feedback for each square
- Control System: Multiple Arduino Nanos, each responsible for a 4x4 section of the board
- Communication Layer: I2C and serial interfaces connect the components
The firmware in each Arduino Nano:
- Initializes the FastLED library to control the RGB LEDs
- Sets up the StickerReader to detect chess pieces
- Reads analog values from phototransistors
- Processes readings to determine if pieces are present
- Updates the board state and communicates via serial/I2C
- Controls LEDs to provide visual feedback
The Python application in the app directory:
- Establishes serial connections to all Arduino boards
- Maps regional coordinates to standard chess notation
- Integrates data from all board regions
- Updates the current FEN representation of the board
- Provides an interface for external chess applications
Watch our demonstration video:
demo-video.mp4
Planned improvements include:
- Improved piece recognition algorithms
- Wireless connectivity options
- Integration with popular chess engines
- Enhanced LED feedback patterns
- Mobile application support