Greg Chaffins Dedicated chess playing devices have been around for years. I can remember buying a unit from Radio Shack back in the day for that purpose. I took it with me places to sit and have a nice game, and this was way before even smart phones and tablets were a real thing, and even laptops were very clunky. While that was nice, it would have been really cool to have a portable chess device that could move its own pieces. Just for the cool factor. And now we have one on Kickstarter: Enter the Manya Cynus Portable Chess Robot.
The Cynus features a 3mp camera built into the arm, and uses CPU + NPU processing to bring the game to life. A display on the arm serves as, for the lack of a better word, a robotic face that brings a little character to the game. The board can recognize any game layout, so you can set up random puzzle and jump right in.
The device incorporates its own handy case, with a place for everything to fit. Setup is quick and easy with a magnetic fit for the arm. Charging the Cynus for 2 hours gives you 10 hours of playtime in the field, and everything is self contained. Now all you need is a quiet place to kick back and escape with a challenging game or two.
