DIY Internet Chess Board

While it’s quite easy to setup an online game of chess with your friend who lives far away, sometimes you just want to be able to play with physical chess pieces instead, and that’s where this DIY chess table that interfaces with the Internet would be useful. The chess board is projected upon the frosted surface on the table, and chess moves from your opponent are displayed on the board, so you can manually move the pieces on your board. Moves are detected by a webcam below the surface. It seems to work pretty well, though you wouldn’t expect something like this to be hitting retail shelves anytime soon. If you’re too lazy to move the pieces yourself, maybe a chess board with a robotic arm might suit you better. Video of this chess board in action after the jump.