SenseRobot’s pitch is simple: bring board-game engines back into the real world with a screen-free tabletop robot that physically moves pieces on a real board, so practice feels closer to over-the-board play than tapping on an app. In this demo you see it set up across multiple tables, with support not only for chess but also checkers/draughts and Chinese chess (Xiangqi), switching boards while keeping the same “move a piece, press go, robot replies” flow. https://www.senserobotchess.com/
What makes it interesting technically is the closed-loop interaction: the system has to sense the current board state, validate your move, and then execute its reply with a small robotic arm and gripper while staying aligned to squares. When an illegal or clearly losing move happens, the robot flags it as a mistake and can restore the position, which implies some combination of move-history tracking and board-state verification rather than blindly trusting the user. That mix of physical HRI, motion control, and rules enforcement is the core of the product story today.
Midway through the interview, filmed at CES Las Vegas 2026, the focus shifts from “robot opponent” to “robot coach.” The rep claims a wide range of difficulty levels from beginner up to grandmaster, plus training value that’s different from playing on a phone: you get a tactile board, a consistent practice partner, and less eye strain than a screen-first chess routine. They also reference a partnership with the European Chess Union, framing the device as a structured way to build confidence before facing human opponents here.
There are a few practical engineering moments too: the arm is presented as stable and safe for home use, and when the host interrupts the motion, the robot pauses and finds its way back, hinting at basic obstruction handling, path recovery, and “return-to-home” style behaviors. The rep also mentions a blitz mode in newer products, which raises the bar on motor speed, acceleration limits, and reliable piece pickup and placement at higher tempo without sacrificing safety mode.
On roadmap and commercial details, they say they’ve sold around 20,000 units globally, built the robot over roughly four years, and that the North America “basic” version sits around the $1,000 mark with availability through mainstream retail. The notable next step is a smaller, more affordable Chess Mini aimed at kids, with talk of extra kid-focused features like STEAM-style programming hooks on top of board-game play, which could turn the robot into a gateway for both chess training and robotics literacy from a single view
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