Looking for: transparent go board

[BramGo]

I'm looking for a transparent go board.
(Board has to be transparent, stones do not).

Seen a shop where they sell them?

Thanks in advance

[Tryphon]

IIRC this question was asked once on GD. Don't know if it helps

[gaius]

What's wrong with a nice wooden board? Do you want to be able to lie below the board and play? The position doesn't change if you look at it upside down, you know...

[Phelan]

From sensei's UnusualMaterials:

Baz: For a very stylish board: two sheets of clear acrylic (plexiglass), both cut in half, the area of the board's worth of (bear with me), light wood-grain vinyl tile, superglue, three little brass hinges (whose width when closed happens to be almost the width of the acrylic) , electrical tape (still good for the edge of the board), and some scrap plexiglass. Use a fine-tip marker to draw the grid on the vinyl (get it centered so the pattern is symmetrical), or on the underside of one of the acrylic sheets. The vinyl adheres to one sheet of the acrylic, another sheet is superglued on the corners, on the vinyl (Krazy Glue does wonders with these surfaces). The hinges superglue to the bottom, and a few scraps are superglued underneath in a pattern so that each half of the board doesn't have a scrap underneath where the other half does (staggered). The scraps (which can be cut all pretty-like) make up for the hinge underneath. Tape up the borders with nice black tape, and viola. It folds backwards, so the underside never shows at any time.

DON'T use glass unless you like the scraping sound.

Okay, so it sounds/feels/looks nothing like kaya. But it looks good, it's 20 dollars, and it impresses people at a coffee shop.

Imagine all the other kinds of vinyl tiles out there. Green/jade and white stones on a faux black-marble tile, for example.

... And you can use glass cleaner on it. -- Baz

I asked for pictures, but got no response.

[BramGo]

What's wrong with a nice wooden board? Do you want to be able to lie below the board and play? The position doesn't change if you look at it upside down, you know...

Almost ... It's something I need for a bigger project.
I'll show you some pictures when it's finished.

So I asked a plexiglass company to create me a board.
But maybe I've been too creative in my sketches, since they send me a 350 EUR bill.
I think 20-40 EUR is more what I had in mind.

[freegame]

I made a lot of go boards myself

I think transparent plastic is even easier than wood. (no sanding and painting)

Go to a DIY shop get a transparent plastic sheet of the dimensions you want, use a CD marker to put lines and hoshi points on it.
It could look quite nice if done with care.

[BramGo]

Doing it myself is of course an option, but if it exists I would prefer to just buy it,
so that I can concentrate on the other parts of the project.
So if somebody has seen this for sale somewhere, please let me know. Thanks

[Marcus]

Doing it myself is of course an option, but if it exists I would prefer to just buy it,
so that I can concentrate on the other parts of the project.
So if somebody has seen this for sale somewhere, please let me know. Thanks

Are you using the transparent board to make a robot that plays go? Just a random thought that crossed my mind.

[CarlJung]

Doing it myself is of course an option, but if it exists I would prefer to just buy it,
so that I can concentrate on the other parts of the project.
So if somebody has seen this for sale somewhere, please let me know. Thanks

Are you using the transparent board to make a robot that plays go? Just a random thought that crossed my mind.

Why would a robot require a transparent board

[Marcus]

Doing it myself is of course an option, but if it exists I would prefer to just buy it,
so that I can concentrate on the other parts of the project.
So if somebody has seen this for sale somewhere, please let me know. Thanks

Are you using the transparent board to make a robot that plays go? Just a random thought that crossed my mind.

Why would a robot require a transparent board

I was thinking it would be easier to have the camera below the board to allow for easier programming of movement of the arm above the board. It may not even be a valid concern, but it strikes me that simplifying the motions of the arm above the board by reducing the number of objects that might possibly be in the way would be a good thing. Plus, with the right design, I believe you can reduce the overall vertical space required, which would in turn allow for a more compact base.

Of course, this is all speculation. An idle fancy, if you will.

[BramGo]

I hope it's not just a fantasy. You're spot on.

I'm hoping that I will be able to detect the presence of a stone using a (2 or 3 leed) photo transistor or photo diode.

step1: making a board with lighting underneath, LEDs should burn when stone is above.
This is the hardest step because I will have to play with sensitivity of the photo transistors.

if that works, then the next step is easy.
step2: letting it communicate through USB to a computer

if that works, ... then the sky is the limit:
- putting your laptop underneath the board and let it write down the game (SGF) while you play.
- communicating with gnugo shouldn't be a problem as it supports GTP...

I'm actually just a software developer who happened to study Electro Engineering while at school.
So, I can't do miracles. But I've been thinking about doing this for such a long long long long time, that I just HAVE to try it, in order to clear my conscience.

[BramGo]

If the sensitivity of the sensors would be an issue and would remain an issue,
then I can still change the goal of the project a little bit, and just try to create gradual lighting ...

I'm heavily influenced by hikaru no go in this project-idea. I think a blue glow underneath the board will look nice.

[Marcus]

I'm interested in the details of your design idea. I am also a software guy (Computer Science Degree) who took both Electrical Engineering courses and Robotics courses.

Perhaps the best way for you to figure out if you can make it work is to prototype it using a small piece of glass or transparent acrylic and making a 3x3 board first. This should give you enough to test the sensitivity of your phototransistors and give you some non-trivial test cases involving multiple stones and stones that are slightly off from their correct place.

It's an interesting project.

[BramGo]

My technical design (electronics) is pretty much finished. There's just 1 component I'm not sure about: that's the sensors.

I've seen similar chessprojects where the engineers used sensors that costed 10 EUR/intersection. And even with that kind of material they had technical issues to just detect the pieces.

Most of these sensors are just designed to detect SOMETHING passing by at big distance. I however only want response at very small distances, EXCEPT for the plexiglass. Now I'm using IR-LEDS to improve the results. BUT acrylic plates have anti-UV coats usually. So, I have no idea if this will work or not. Fingers crossed, really.

I've ordered 3 types of sensors, ranging from 0.2 EUR to 0.6 EUR / piece if ordered in big quantities. I hope the 0.2 euro / intersection will do. Cause that would mean 70 euro, just for the sensors. Total price would be around 150 euro to create a board (if parts ordered in large quantities). However if I'll have to use the 0.6 EUR sensors, then everything becomes more complex I'll need additional resistors as well. And suddenly it will be more like 350 EUR/board.

My project is not just to make a board. I'm hoping to make it affordable as well, even when produced in small numbers. Affordable would mean, less than 250 EUR/board. That would be a success, looking at the current numbers.

As for the exact details of my components I prefer that to be a little secret for now.
It's just too bad I'll have to draw my lines myself on that acrylic plate. Presentation is pretty important in this project ...

[Marcus]

Sounds like an impressive pursuit, if you can make it work the way you want it to.

Good luck to you!