Ubaya Students Create AI-Based Chess Robot

Surabaya (ANTARA) - Agung, a student from the Electrical Engineering Study Programme at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Surabaya (Ubaya), has created an artificial intelligence-based chess robot named Smart Chess. The project integrates an industrial robotic arm, a camera, and AI to serve as a medium for playing and robotics research.

“The focus of this final project is to integrate artificial intelligence with industrial robotics. Currently, it is applied to the game of chess as a medium for training and play, but the hope is that this concept can be developed for industrial needs. With AI, robots will be able to execute more complex instructions, making the use of industrial robots more efficient,” he stated in Surabaya on Friday.

Agung explained that chess was chosen due to its high level of complexity. According to him, if a robot can execute intricate instructions within a game of chess, a similar concept could potentially be applied to industrial processes that require AI-based decision-making.

Smart Chess utilises a webcam to recognise the position of pieces on the chessboard. Information from the camera is processed by AI to determine the best move, after which the robotic arm automatically moves the piece.

Currently, Smart Chess is still being developed within a human-versus-robot match scenario. In the future, the system could be refined to include robot-versus-robot matches and the addition of further intelligence features.

The idea for Smart Chess originated from Agung’s hobby as a chess athlete. He believes that chess is one of the most widely recognised board games and possesses the high complexity necessary to demonstrate the capabilities of AI in controlling robots.

“During laboratory testing, the robot recorded a win rate of up to 100 per cent when using grandmaster-level AI. However, during several demonstrations outside the laboratory, the robot was occasionally defeated by human players, bringing the success rate to approximately 97–98 per cent,” he explained.

Agung acknowledged that Smart Chess has not yet been equipped with professional match features, such as cheat detection or threefold repetition rules.

Meanwhile, chess player Anugerah Prawira shared that playing against Smart Chess provided a new experience, as players can still handle the pieces physically while facing an AI-driven opponent. “This innovation is interesting because it provides a different playing experience. We still play on a chessboard like a regular match, but the opponent is a robot capable of responding to the player’s moves. I believe this technology is excellent as a training medium and as a way to introduce the application of AI and robotics to the public,” he said.