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Trey Wagner’s Status Report for 3/8/25

PERSONAL Accomplishments
  1. Design Report (13hr): The design report was a large undertaking for this week, taking up most of our time in mandatory sessions and outside of class. Most of this time was spent writing a full description of the gantry system, discussing some design trade-offs evaluated for this subsystem, outlining test strategies, and writing various other sections. This took more time than expected due to the more professional language required for the report, as well as the need to develop some diagrams and tables to show our design. One of these diagrams will be shown in the next section.
  2. Pulley System Design (2hr): As I evaluated the plan for the gantry system, I settled on a design for the pulley setup. 

The design uses two step motors and two timing belts, which move the electromagnet along the X and Y axes. The pulley system design, while more complicated, avoids having a motor on the central beam. This increases the working range of the gantry system while also reducing the size of the horizontal bar.

3. Gathering Necessary Screws, Nuts, and Washers (3hr): In order to assemble the gantry system, a specific arrangement of screws, nuts, washers, and brackets were needed. I went through the process of gathering all of these components to ensure that all elements were ready to assemble. This will fully enable the building of the gantry system design.

Progress

As was expected, the design report took a lot of time. As such, I was unable to finish the assembly of the gantry system before spring break. I will work throughout this week to ensure that the gantry system gets assembled and testing can begin. This will put me back on schedule for the rest of the semester.

Next Week Tasks & Goals
  1. Assemble entire gantry system outside of the box.
  2. Test basic movements (from point A to point B) for consistent accuracy
  3. Start (and hopefully finish) the design for our chessboard
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Liam’s Status Report 3/8

Personal Accomplishments

While working on my laptop instead of the Jetson I was able to modify the sample program given by the manufacturer for using callbacks. I was also able to use a gaze estimation model online to get values for a given frame. I am still not very certain of how the depth is given by the camera but will figure out tonight or tomorrow. Its hard to do proper gaze detection since I have nothing to mount the camera on.

Progress

Currently on track.

Future Deliverables

Proper stand for camera to start doing depth detection when playing the game

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Team Status Report for 3/8/25

General update

This week, Liam got a gaze model working on a Windows Laptop. He still has to refine the depth calculation. This will be the focus of the early days of this week.

All pieces (including screws, washers, etc.) are now obtained to assemble the gantry system. This will be completed by the end of the week, with testing commencing once Tarek returns to Pittsburgh. Tarek also wrote some additional code to control the motors in our design, so these tests will verify the functionality of the code and the gantry design.

Potential risks and risk management

No new risks this week. The initial gaze model work from Liam is encouraging, but will be tested further once the proper camera stand is obtained.

Overall design changes

No design changes this week.

Initial Schedule

Schedule is still on track. Spring break was less productive as our team was away from the campus and our project, but we are refreshed and prepared to grind out some work to complete the design of our subsystems and initiate testing.

Additional Week-specific Items

Part A: Global Factors (written by Trey)

Check, Mate, Vision addresses the global need for increased accessibility in recreational activities, particularly for individuals with physical disabilities or limited upper body mobility. Chess is a globally recognized and widely played game, but its traditional physical requirements create a barrier for individuals who cannot manually move pieces. Our solution eliminates these barriers, allowing users to engage in strategic play without needing to touch the board physically. By creating an inclusive chess-playing experience, Check, Mate, Vision promotes cognitive stimulation, social interaction, and emotional well-being for people around the world.

This solution also reflects a growing global need for assistive technology and adaptive design. As populations grow and the number of individuals with physical disabilities increases, there is a rising demand for products that enhance independence and inclusion. Check, Mate, Vision addresses this need by empowering users to engage in a complex intellectual activity without relying on the assistance of another person. The system’s reliance on common and scalable technologies, such as electromagnets and microcontrollers, ensures that it can be adapted to different environments and production scales.

Part B:  Cultural Factors (written by Liam)

Chess has a rich cultural history spanning 1,500 years across numerous civilizations, and the physical experience of playing the game carries significant cultural value. Check, Mate, Vision preserves this traditional experience by maintaining the original chess environment instead of shifting to digital alternatives. The unobtrusive design requirement ensures minimal extra components are visible from above the table, maintaining the important classic chess that many cultures have experienced.

Part C: Environmental Factors (written by Tarek)

While our project is mainly geared towards accessibility, we have taken some decisions with regard to environmental factors. One key decision is optimizing energy efficiency by using stepper motors with precise motion control, reducing unnecessary power consumption. The embedded controller ensures that movements are executed only when necessary, preventing idle power drain. Additionally, the LED feedback system will be implemented with low-power LEDs to minimize energy use while still providing clear user communication.

Material selection is another factor in reducing environmental impact. The gantry system and enclosure are constructed using durable metals and recycled plywood, ensuring longevity and reducing waste from frequent replacements. Additionally, the modular nature of the system allows for repair and upgrades, extending its lifespan rather than requiring full system replacement. By designing Check, Mate, Vision with energy efficiency, environmentally-conscious materials, and longevity in mind, the system not only meets its accessibility goal but does so with minimal environmental impact, aligning with broader sustainability considerations.

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Tarek’s Status Report for 3/8

What did you personally accomplish this week on the project? Give files or photos that demonstrate your progress. Prove to the reader that you put sufficient effort into the project over the course of the week (12+ hours).

Spring break and the design report meant that the last two weeks were less productive than the previous one. I spent the bulk of the first week writing the design report, this took more than 12 hours individually. I wrote the introduction, drew the block diagram, and wrote the parts relevant to my subsystem.

As for the actual project, I modified the Arduino embedded controller code to work for two motors, controlling the gantry in 2 dimensions instead of one. See code.

Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be taken to catch up to the project schedule?

My progress is on schedule. My goal for this week was to finish the design report and add the second dimension to the motor controller code.

What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?

I had a medical procedure over spring break which is preventing me from getting to Pittsburgh until Thursday. I’m working on requesting a short-term “Full Absence from Class Accommodation” recommendation from ODR. I will be working on the Ethics Assignment until then. Once I am back in Pittsburgh, my goal is to upload this code to GitHub (2FA won’t let me log in because I am out of the country), and test this code if Trey has assembled the gantry. This will likely take some time. If I manage to complete this with some time to spare, I hope to add more sophisticated logic to move the gantry only along the edges of chessboard squares.

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Liam’s Status Report 2/22

Personal Accomplishments

I helped Trey this week with testing the electromagnets. The new cable also came in, and I was able to properly test it now. I will now be working on creating the POC for gaze estimation. Once we get the gaze working, I will have to 3D print a stand for the camera. The Jetson should be fully configured at this point we just need to write code for the estimation.

Progress

If I don’t finish the proof of concept this weekend I will be worried about staying on track. Besides that I am on track.

Future Deliverables

  • Proof of Concept
  • Stand for camera
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Tarek’s Status Report for 2/22

What did you personally accomplish this week on the project? Give files or photos that demonstrate your progress. Prove to the reader that you put sufficient effort into the project over the course of the week (12+ hours).

This week was key for my subsystem of the project: the embedded controller. I received the Arduino Mega 2560 and installed the required Arduino IDE to be able to develop on the board. I also spent some time reading up on the TB6600 stepper motor driver, and how to use it in combination with the Arduino to drive the stepper motors that will move the gantry. After some work figuring out how to properly wire the motor and motor driver, Trey and I were able to make the motor spin using a basic Arduino sketch. See video.

The rest of my time was spent adding calculations to the Arduino program such that given a microstep resolution, belt pitch, and pulley teeth count, we can drive the gantry to a specific position along the belt (in one dimension). See code.

Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be taken to catch up to the project schedule?

My progress is on schedule. My goal for this week was to figure out how to control the motors using the Arduino and I accomplished that.

What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?

I will add additional logic to control the gantry in two dimensions. Once Trey assembles the gantry this week, we will thoroughly test this. That being said, we expect to be able to accomplish less work on the project in the next week as the design report will take up the bulk of our time.

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Team Status Report for 2/22/25

General update

This week, the team spent most of our time assembling, bringing up software and devices, and doing initial proof of concept tests. Liam has been working with the Jetson and the stereo camera. He is evaluating the output of the camera and determining how to interface with the Jetson and our included models. Trey tested out the electromagnet functionality and began working on the gantry system assembly. Some CAD designs seem necessary, so Trey will also be designing and printing these components to support the ordered components. He also worked with Tarek to get the step motors spinning. Tarek is working in more detail on the Arduino program that will give precise control to our pulley system in the gantry.

Potential risks and risk management

No new risks have been identified this week. The same two (3D Gaze Estimation and the Electromagnet) will be prevalent until further testing is done. A proof of concept for gaze detection will ease worries about that subsystem. Liam is working studiously on that.

Overall design changes

No large design changes this week. Preliminary testing identified that an external DC power supply may be needed for the motor drivers. However, the overall design has not changed in any way. Further testing will be used to verify entire subsystems and the interface between them.

Schedule

Our schedule remains unchanged and we are on track.

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Trey Wagner’s Status Report for 2/22/25

PERSONAL Accomplishments
  1. Electromagnet Testing (4hr): Since the electromagnets were delivered this week, I wanted to do some testing to ensure they would work for our system. We received two electromagnets — one with 2.5kg holding force and the other with 5kg holding force. Both were attached to a 5V input supply. We gathered some ferrous pieces of metal (more on that later) and some potential board materials to test. I determined that the 2.5kg electromagnet would not be strong enough for our design. The 5kg electromagnet was able to move pieces of metal smoothly through 1/8″ thick plywood and acrylic. Increasing the thickness to 1/4″ limited the functionality of the magnet. For the 1/8″ thick materials, the plywood appeared to be a better choice for smooth motion. We found that the magnet would not easily attract nearby metal if already holding onto a large piece of metal. I also found some random results, such as the electromagnet working better at 5.5V than 5V. Overall, this proved that the electromagnet could work through a chessboard surface. Now, testing will focus on moving actual pieces with other pieces nearby. A video of this test can be found below:

Video of Electromagnet

2. Finding the Right Metal (1hr): As mentioned above, electromagnet testing also brought about considerations of the size and shape of the metal needed for our pieces. Liam and I spent an hour retrieving various metal nuts, washers, and screws from TechSpark to determine the best fit. Testing showed that a heavier piece moved more smoothly, although the piece could be too heavy. Some washers/nuts didn’t move easily due to the large hollow middle. We will need to find a solid piece of ferrous metal with some weight to place inside each chess piece. The weight could also be provided by the chess piece itself.

3. Interfacing Stepper Motors with Arduino (3hr): I worked with Tarek to get the step motors moving using the Arduino Mega. First, I had to learn about the wiring of the step motors and the interface of the motor drivers. After that, I helped to wire the two together and connect them back to the Arduino. We played around with various input voltages (within the specs of the drivers) and configurations to determine step size. Ultimately we got the motors to spin with the desired rotation. Tarek will post more details on his status report.

4. Mandatory Lab Meetings (4hr): During our lab sessions, I watched Tarek present our design review presentation. Once again, we received good questions about handling edge case rules in chess. We also received feedback from Professor Kim, who advised that our pedal to lock in moves may go against the accessibility that our product advertises. We plan to carry this feedback into our design to handle chess logic properly and determine a better move lock mechanism (voice or facial recognition). I also got the chance to witness other groups present their design presentations and give valuable peer reviews. It is encouraging and stimulating to see the design choices of other groups.

5. Gathered Data for Design Report (2hr): As the design report is upcoming, I wanted to get ahead on some of the elements needed for my subsystem. As such, I began gathering data about my components into one shared document. I also started to create visuals to represent the design decisions that I made, and why I believe that my decisions were best for our project. We will continue working on the design review throughout the next week.

Progress

My progress is still slightly behind schedule to finish an MVP design by spring break. I believe that I can have some assembly completed by this week, but the design report could be a huge undertaking. Depending on how much work that requires, it may take away from my available time for assembly and testing this week. I will have plenty of time directly after spring break, which should allow me to get back on track.

Next Week Tasks & Goals
  1. Design 3D-printed trolley component to hold electromagnet in our gantry system.
  2. Assembly entire gantry system outside of the box.
  3. Finish design report.
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Tarek’s Status Report for 2/15

What did you personally accomplish this week on the project? Give files or photos that demonstrate your progress. Prove to the reader that you put sufficient effort into the project over the course of the week (12+ hours).

I was sick for the majority this week and had to visit the hospital which hindered the amount of work I was able to do. That being said, I was able to complete the majority of my tasks.

I researched how to implement the through-board LED system. I thought of using a MAX7219 multiplexing LED chip, but after our faculty meeting and our pivot to magnetically controlled chess pieces, I realized this may actually be more complex than anticipated, as the electromagnet may destroy components of this circuit when moving pieces. As this is not a quality-of-life feature, and not a critical element of our design, I set this aside and focused on other tasks this week.

I ordered the Arduino Mega 2560 as well as cables to connect devices for the team. I also designed the communication protocol between the Arduino and Jetson. The Jetson will communicate over UART with the Arduino sending out messages as fast as the model can estimate gaze in the following format:

'''{row}{col}\n'''

The Arduino will only parse a line after seeing a newline character so that we can detect where messages start. We avoid fragmentation by discarding messages that don’t end in a newline character. The Arduino will select a move origin (or destination) as soon as it receives a complete coordinate message AND the user is using the lock-in mechanism (button/pedal).

I also researched libraries and implementation methods in case gaze estimation at our required accuracy is not possible and we are forced to pivot to having the user look at a screen. If this were the case, we would implement the eye-tracking and UI in Python. The eye-tracking would most likely be powered by the EyeGestures library. This would take in live webcam input from the user’s desktop machine and use it to output a coordinate of where on the screen the user is looking at. I would write a simple Python applet that displays a live-feed of a bird’s eye view of the board using the OpenCV Python library (this is just a commonly used live-feed library, OpenCV would not be actually using Computer Vision in this version of our project), then overlay the EyeGestures coordinate over the screen using tkinter to display where the user is looking. EyeGestures can also capture blinks, which the user would use to lock into a move.

Finally, I worked on designing and delivering the design presentation, which I will be giving unless my Monday morning doctor’s appointment takes too long, in which case Trey will give the presentation.

Is your progress on schedule or behind? If you are behind, what actions will be taken to catch up to the project schedule?

My progress is mostly on schedule. My illness and the change of plans to using magnets to move the pieces meant that I was not able to put enough time into finalizing the design of the through-board LED UI subsystem. I will park this aside for the time being and focus on the mechanical aspects of our system until the design report is due. Once that is working, I can go back to working on quality-of-life improvements.

What deliverables do you hope to complete in the next week?

Next week we will present our design presentation and receive the components we ordered. My main goal for next week is setting up the Arduino and figuring out how to use it to control the stepper motors.

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Team Status Report for 2/15/25

General update
  1.  Jetson configured
    1. Packages installed and configured it to be connected through SSH
  2. Preparing for design presentation
  3. Parts ordered for the various subsystems which should begin to come throughout the next week. This will be particularly helpful for the Arduino and gantry system, as we can begin to assemble and test the interface between the two.
  4. New Gantt Chart
Potential risks and risk management
  1.  The same risk mentioned last week about the accuracy of the gaze model. If it fails horrendously we will switch to a screen or hopefully find a better model.
  2. There is a chance that the electromagnet is an ineffective solution. It could be too strong and attract nearby pieces during movement, or it could be too weak that it cannot move a piece through the board. In order to manage this risk, we will test this functionality as early as possible to allow pivots to other pickup mechanisms. The next option would be reverting back to an above-ground gantry that uses a mechanical grabber.
Overall design changes
  1. The gantry system design changed from an above-board system to a below-board. This decision benefits us in several ways, including eliminating the assembly and cost of a z-axis step motor and creating a more clean and accessible board (without the large rails on the sides). The below-board system will still meet all design requirements.
  2. No other design changes at this time. We expect many of our components to arrive throughout next week, which will allow us to determine if the design/parts are suitable.
Initial Schedule

  1. After a conversation with Professor Kim, we have decided to accelerate the schedule of our baseline design. Achieving a minimum viable product (MVP) earlier will allow us to find flaws in our subsystems while still offering enough time for testing and integration. As such, our schedule has changed to reflect the new deadlines that we would like to follow.

Additional Week-specific Items

Part A: Public Health, Safety, and Welfare (written by Trey):

Check, Mate, Vision enhances public health and welfare by making chess accessible to individuals with limited upper body mobility, promoting cognitive well-being and emotional resilience. Studies show that chess improves memory and problem-solving skills, yet its physical requirements can be restrictive. Our system removes these barriers, ensuring all players can access its mental health benefits. Beyond cognitive stimulation, Check, Mate, Vision creates meaningful recreational opportunities, reducing social isolation and fostering engagement. By providing an inclusive and interactive experience, it helps improve mood, alleviate stress, and combat feelings of loneliness.

Our product prioritizes user safety by employing a controlled gantry system that ensures precise and predictable movement of the chess pieces, eliminating any hazards associated with manual handling. The gaze-tracking model further reduces physical strain by accurately tracking eye position at all times. Check, Mate, Vision also enhances overall welfare by fostering independence and inclusion, allowing users to engage in strategic play on their own terms. This promotes self-sufficiency, personal growth, and confidence, extending to daily activities and empowering users to take greater control of their lives.

Part B: Social Factors (written by Tarek)

Check, Mate, Vision is, at its core, a system to enable more people to play chess. This game is enjoyed by millions of people around the world, connecting fans of the game and allowing them to find a new way to socialize with one another and share the human experience. As such, it is important to us that Check, Mate, Vision preserves this aspect of social interaction.

In our ideation stage, we thought about having players play against a machine; however, it was important to us to preserve the human aspects of the game. Playing with another human in front of you, seeing their face, talking to them, and connecting over an appreciation of the game, is a powerful and important element of chess.

We also thought about having users talk to the machine in order to select moves; however, we didn’t want to limit the system’s accessibility to English speakers or those familiar with chess coordinates. Our design ultimately removes as many barriers as possible for as many people as possible to enjoy chess with others, fostering human connection and enabling people to connect with others.

Part C: Economic Factors (written by Liam)

Check, Mate, Vision is focused on providing an affordable chess-playing solution for individuals with limited upper body mobility. Traditional assistive technologies in this field are often bulky and expensive, primarily due to specialized hardware and complex manufacturing processes. By utilizing common components like a camera, computer, and gantry system, we significantly reduce production costs. These readily available parts are less expensive to source and assemble, which lowers the overall price of the system for consumers.

Simplifying the production and distribution aspects also means we can scale up more efficiently, making the technology accessible to a wider market. Reduced manufacturing complexity leads to lower inventory and supply chain costs, which translates into savings for users. This cost-effective approach not only makes the game of chess more accessible to those with physical limitations but also opens up opportunities for educational institutions and rehabilitation centers to adopt the technology without incurring substantial expenses.