A physical chess board that can detect the position of chess pieces in real time using Hall effect sensors and provide visual feedback through RGB LEDs. The project combines custom electronics, firmware and a 3D printed enclosure to create a chess board that can understand what is happening on the board without using mechanical switches.
The engineering side of the project is finally finished.
The KiCad project is locked, the Gerber files have been exported, and the BOM and CPL files have been checked against the component library. I went through the board one more time and double-checked the components, footprints, resistors, capacitors, shift registers, and all 128 Hall sensors.
From a design perspective, the board is ready for manufacturing.
This was probably the biggest reality check of the project so far.
Because the PCB is larger than 20 × 20 cm, it gets pushed out of the cheaper prototype pricing tier. On top of that, the board contains 128 Hall sensors, 16 shift registers, a large number of LEDs and hundreds of small SMD components.
Once PCB manufacturing, component costs and assembly are combined, the price for producing only a few prototype boards becomes far too high for a personal project.
I spent several hours going through the BOM and trying to bring the cost down. I looked at cheaper sensor alternatives, changed some component selections and tried to avoid additional factory setup costs wherever possible.
Unfortunately, there is only so much that can be optimized when the board itself is this large and contains this many components.
At the moment, I am not sure whether the project will continue in its current form.
That does not mean the project is finished. The design files are complete, backed up and ready to return to if I decide to continue with it later.
The biggest thing I learned from this stage was that designing a PCB that works on paper is only part of the problem. Designing something that can actually be manufactured at a reasonable price is a completely different challenge.
This project gave me a much better understanding of Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and, more importantly, the real cost of turning a custom PCB design into physical hardware.
If I decide to bring the project back, the most realistic solution would probably be to redesign the board as several smaller modular PCBs instead of one large 200 × 200 mm board.
That could make manufacturing significantly cheaper and would also make individual sections easier to replace, test and improve.
For now, the design is finished and safely backed up.
The next step depends on whether I can find a practical way to manufacture the hardware without making the project unnecessarily expensive.
Quick Summary: CAD design is officially wrapped up, hardware integration is locked in, and the remaining firmware debugging is underway.
First off, full transparency: the core hardware and 3D modeling phases are virtually finished.
Rather than releasing tiny micro-updates, progress is being batched into consolidated devlogs following long development blocks. A single multi-hour workflow covered the PCB layout, CAD design adjustments, and initial firmware setup.
See you in Devlog #3!
The PCB design phase is officially complete. A custom 200 × 200 mm PCB has been designed and prepared for fabrication.
The next step is the CAD enclosure design. Instead of modeling the entire housing from scratch, the plan is to adapt existing 3D-printable chessboard models.
The main CAD work includes:
Since the CAD modifications are currently underway, this first devlog focuses on the project concept and overall hardware architecture.
The Smart Chess Board is an interactive physical chessboard that detects piece locations in real time using magnetic sensing and provides visual feedback through an integrated LED matrix underneath the board.
The goal is to combine the experience of playing on a traditional physical chessboard with digital features such as:
The board is built around three main systems: magnetic detection, LED illumination, and microcontroller processing.
A Hall effect sensor is positioned beneath each of the 64 squares.
Neodymium magnets are embedded into the base of each chess piece. When a piece is placed on a square, the corresponding sensor detects the magnetic field and allows the system to determine the current board state.
Addressable RGB LEDs are positioned underneath the squares alongside the sensors.
They provide visual feedback for things such as:
The ESP32 acts as the main processing unit.
It is responsible for:
A custom 200 × 200 mm PCB integrates the main electronics into a single board.
It contains the sensor matrix, LED traces, power distribution, and microcontroller headers, reducing the amount of manual wiring required.
The enclosure will be adapted from an existing 3D-printable chessboard design.
The modified enclosure will include:
The goal is to create a clean enclosure that keeps the electronics protected while maintaining the appearance and feel of a traditional chessboard.
The main focus for the next development stage is the CAD enclosure.
Once the enclosure dimensions and mounting system are finalized, the next milestone will be assembling the PCB, sensors, LEDs, and ESP32 into the finished board.
