Arduino Powered, Chess Playing Robot

          While I was googling Arduino projects/products, I came across this amazing website which allows us to see the number of projects you can accomplish with Arduino, http://hacknmod.com/topics/audio/. In this website,  The project I found the most interesting is the Arduino Powered, Chess Playing Robot (http://hacknmod.com/hack/arduino-powered-chess-playing-robot/) because it grabbed my attention instantly. The reason this project specifically grabbed my attention is because it is a simple, reliable and easy doable project. As a class or in a group, we can certainly create this robotic chess game if we have the determination and the correct resources. This Arduino Powered, Chess Playing Robot is very similar in appearence to the chess boards we can find at a game store. However, the chess pieces used in this robotic board game are metallic and are moved using a magnet controlled by a robotic arm. In this Chess Playing Robot, there is a microcontroller which controls the stepper motors and servos(moves pieces between sqaures). There are also 64 magnetically activated reed switches installed in the board that allows the Arduino to track the location of each piece. Moreover, I found the link that gives the instructions on how to create this Chess Playing Robot with Arduino, http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-an-Arduino-Powered-Chess-Playing-Robo/. If you go to this link, you will be able to see one disadvantage about creating this is that the materials needed to create this is very expensive and nearly impossible for DCTI to afford :(