Wall-mounted internet chess-board?

Hello Chess-Community,

I hope it is ok if I ask here some chess-related questions...

I always wanted a wall-mounted electronic chess-board for my Daily or Correspondence games, but nobody made such boards.  So I decided to make one. The development of the prototype is now complete, and I received quite positive feedback so far.

Now, I play around with the idea to make it a product, but I have no idea how many people would be interested in a wall-mounted internet chess-board. I thought here is the right place to get some feedback from active players...

For now, I have only a picture to show, but a video showing how it works will soon be available on the project's landing-page: lookatchess.com

How do you find the idea?  Any kind of feedback would be very appreciated.

Love the idea, wanted one for sure. My thoughts, I like the board configuration, chess pieces need to be much more recognizable.  

Nice to know, that I am not only one  

Hurryking, of course the pieces can be different in height.

I’m assuming you are using magnets for adhesion, in which case you have a maximum height (I.e. square size) but you ignore than pieces can be less than maximum.

I am interested that your webpage includes that this ALREADY connects to your online chess account.  That is an interesting claim. What exactly does this do already? 

As for the board, I dislike the pieces, but that is minor, since it seems like you can get different pieces.  What about the coordinates?

My personal advice is DO NOT make it automated. If you have to have it connected to the Internet, do that light indicator thing that DGT, chestnut air, or Squareoff pro does.  While I think there's a huge market for moving chess pieces, the engineering is more difficult than it first appears. 

As I mentioned before, the prototype is already fully functional. I try to explain how it works:

- the playfield is made out of painted acrylic with each square having a thin transparent border where LED light from behind can come through. Lights indicate opponet's moves and confirm the transmission of own moves

- Behind the cover is also an array with hall sensors which senses changes on the board

- The sensors and lights are connected to a microcontroller which tracks the moves and controls the lights (for now it is raspberry pi)

- the microcontroller reads an API-token from a file to connect the board to an Internet game (sorry, but I implemented the connection to an other big chess site first. Chess.com will follow soon)

The general functionality is already tested and everything works well, except some minor issues like: incorrect light confirmation of rochade moves and other smaller software problems.

From the development perspective there is only one bigger task left: an app to allow easier board setup and setting changes. 

I will make a demo-video to show how it works. 

Yes, each piece has a magnet inside for adhesion and for recognition. You are right, it is of course possible to make pieces different in size... Fortunately changing the design of the pieces is not a big challange. 

Sinnce the whole project will also be open-sourced for DIY(parallel to the product-line)) , everybody interested can even made own pieces or implement more radical design changes. 

I found some old testing pictures with 3D-printed pieces and a really early-stage testing video.

I hope it can give you a little more insight how the board works:

Very impressive.

You should have lead with your video.  You only have one chance to make a first impression, so you should have pitched your product harder than you did. 

My only advice is to create a Staunton-style set for your crowdfunding.  Us chess nerds are very conservative, and seeing a non-standard set could turn some of us off before we even get to your sales pitch. 

Do you have a price point that you are aiming at? 

Demo-video of the current prototype

I also like classic tabletop chessboards and wooden pieces, but only for a live game with a real person. Otherwise tabletop boards are very inconvenient, especially if you play a lot of daily/correspondence games... But I now added the tabletop-feature to the Lookatchess: simply put it of the wall and use your favorite pieces

There will be different options for the Kickstarter campaign:

- The cheapest is DIY (you just buy a step by step making manual and parts)

- Then a lookatchess without electronics (as wall-decoration or for analysis/teaching purposes)

- A fully functional lookatchess without pieces and one frontcover

- And finally a full pakage with a set of pieces (probably plastic)

- There will also be a limited edition with handcrafted ceramic pieces and choosable, custom glaze

I don't have any concrete prices for now. What do you think, what prices would be fair for such a chessboard?

Hi...and when will the Kickstarter start?

I think you're trying to do too much.

As nice as it is to open source things, you may not get any benefit from doing so.  It is probably not worth your time making DIY instructions to sell, compared to how many buyers are willing to buy. 

You should sell your wall decoration set just from your website, since you already pretty close to that sort of product.

Focus just on the Internet set with pieces for your kickstarter. 

I really don't know what you think you should value your work at, but here is three competitors. 

Chessnut air is $99USD

Squareoff Pro is $260USD

DGT Pegasus is also $260USD 

I would try to aim at making your product $15 ~ $30 dollars, and trying to sell it for $100 ~ $150.

We are prepairing the campagne now. It shouldn't take too long. 

We will inform our potential supporters in good time by email. So it's best to join our emailing list if you're interested. You can add your email to the list on the project's page: https://www.lookatchess.com/

Guys, looks like there is now a Kickstarter wall mounted chess computer on the market. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inventhio/explore-new-dimensions-of-chess-with-vertichess