Saturday, February 19, 2011

Learn Chess with AR

No, not with me, but with "augmented reality".

A couple of students from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, in Spain, have just come up with a novel way to teach chess. All you apparently need is a PC with a webcam, a chess set and a specialised software to make the whole AR thing happen.

The Science Daily reports:

To use the system, learners play with an ordinary chess board but move the cardboard markers instead of standard pieces. The table is lit from above and the webcam focuses on the board, and every time the player moves one of the markers the system recognises the piece and reproduces the move in 3D on the computer screen, creating a virtual representation of the game.

For example, if the learner moves the marker P (pawn), the corresponding piece will be displayed on the screen in 3D, with all of the possible moves indicated. This is a simple and attractive way of showing novices the permitted movements of each piece, making the system particularly suitable for children learning the basics of this board game.

Maybe I'm just not seeing it, but I don't see the point in this.

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