March 10th, 2023
As part of our FYDP/Capstone 2023 spotlights, we’re excited to introduce project “Acc-Chess-Ible” from the Interdisciplinary Engineering team: Ben Nicholls-Harisson, Derek Broekhoven, Cindy McGinnis, Vanessa Noia and Spencer Canavan!
Explain your project in one sentence
Acc-Chess-Ible is a voice-controlled and hands-free accessible chess set that allows people with fine motor delays to play chess at home.
What has been the best part of your project so far?
The friends we made along the way. We have learned a lot about each others strengths and weaknesses over this project and other engineering events. We’ve also been interacting with a lot of stakeholders in the chess community such as reaching out to “The Chess Club”, KW chess Club and UW Chess Club during the research and development of the project.
What are the biggest challenges you've faced during the project?
Mechanical issues and how to circumvent magnetic interference.
How does your project improve human lives and/or our planet's health?
It provides the chance to play chess for people who have lost the ability or have never been given the ability to move the pieces.
What's next for your team members (ie: working full-time, looking for a job, starting a business, etc).
We are excited about the potential impact Acc-Chess-Ible offers. It has received a lot of support and we are looking for funding to improve our project and market the chess set.