Original 12-Week Development Timeline

Note

This is a historical record and is deliberately not updated. It is the February 2026 ProtoFund schedule, reproduced as written. It refers to the project as “First Move Robotics” — a former name; the entity is Kirin Autonomy, Inc. — and describes a plan that subsequent events have overtaken. Correcting it would destroy the only thing it is useful for, which is showing what was planned at the outset and how far the project has moved since.

Project Overview

First Move Robotics is building an autonomous chess system integrating a computational chess engine with a physical board capable of independent piece manipulation. This timeline accounts for approximately 10–15 hours per week of combined team effort.

Phase Overview

tl-01-timeline-1

Detailed Weekly Schedule

Phase 1: Design & Planning (Weeks 1–3)

Week 1: Requirements & Architecture

  • Define system requirements and success criteria for prototype

  • Finalize board dimensions, piece design, and movement mechanism approach

  • Create high-level system architecture diagram

  • Research and compare actuation methods (XY gantry, electromagnet, robotic arm)

  • Deliverable: Requirements document and architecture diagram

Week 2: Component Selection & Procurement

  • Select microcontroller platform (e.g., Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP32)

  • Identify motors, drivers, sensors, and mechanical components

  • Create bill of materials (BOM) with suppliers and costs

  • Place orders for long-lead-time components

  • Begin CAD modeling of board frame and gantry system

  • Deliverable: Complete BOM with orders placed

Week 3: Detailed Design

  • Complete mechanical CAD designs for board structure

  • Design piece-gripping or electromagnetic mechanism

  • Create wiring schematics and PCB layout (if custom board needed)

  • Define software module interfaces and communication protocols

  • Set up version control repository and project management tools

  • Deliverable: Complete CAD files and electrical schematics

Phase 2: Parallel Development (Weeks 4–7)

Week 4: Foundation Build

  • Hardware: Begin frame construction; assemble linear motion components

  • Software: Set up development environment; implement basic UCI protocol

  • Verify motor drivers and test basic motion control

  • Deliverable: Partial frame assembly; motor control proof-of-concept

Week 5: Core Subsystems

  • Hardware: Complete gantry assembly; mount motors and belts/leadscrews

  • Software: Implement board state representation and move validation

  • Begin piece detection system (reed switches, hall effect sensors, or vision)

  • Deliverable: Functional XY motion; basic chess logic operational

Week 6: Piece Manipulation

  • Hardware: Install and test piece-gripping mechanism

  • Software: Develop motion planning for piece pickup, movement, and placement

  • Implement coordinate calibration routines

  • Buffer week for catching up on delayed components or debugging

  • Deliverable: System can physically move a single piece between squares

Week 7: Chess Engine Integration

  • Integrate engine with physical control system

  • Implement move translation layer (algebraic notation $\rightarrow$ motor commands)

  • Add piece capture handling (remove captured pieces from board)

  • Begin basic game flow: detect human move, compute response, execute move

  • Deliverable: Engine-controlled piece movement demonstrated

Phase 3: System Integration (Weeks 8–10)

Week 8: Full Game Loop

  • Implement complete game state machine (start, play, end-game detection)

  • Add castling and en passant move handling

  • Integrate piece detection with move validation

  • Test human vs. engine gameplay for basic positions

  • Deliverable: Complete game playable from starting position

Week 9: User Interface & Feedback

  • Add user feedback mechanisms (LEDs, display, or audio)

  • Implement difficulty level selection

  • Create simple interface for game start/reset

  • Handle error states (illegal moves, piece misplacement)

  • Deliverable: User-friendly interaction layer

Week 10: Reliability & Edge Cases

  • Stress test mechanical system for repeated moves

  • Handle edge cases: pawn promotion, stalemate, checkmate detection

  • Implement graceful error recovery

  • Optimize motion paths for speed and reliability

  • Deliverable: Robust system handling all standard chess scenarios

Phase 4: Testing & Documentation (Weeks 11–12)

Week 11: Testing & Refinement

  • Conduct full system testing with multiple complete games

  • Identify and fix mechanical reliability issues

  • Fine-tune motor speeds, acceleration profiles, and timing

  • Begin documentation of system design and operation

  • Deliverable: Reliable prototype; draft documentation

Week 12: Documentation & Presentation

  • Complete technical documentation

  • Prepare demonstration materials and presentation

  • Record demonstration video

  • Create user manual for prototype operation

  • Final system cleanup and packaging

  • Deliverable: Complete prototype ready for ProtoFund presentation

Minimum Viable Prototype (MVP) Criteria

The prototype will be considered successful if it demonstrates:

  1. Physical board with functional XY positioning system

  2. Reliable piece manipulation (pickup, move, place)

  3. Human move detection via sensors

  4. Engine integration with legal move generation

  5. Completion of at least one full game against a human opponent

Task Division

Phase

Colin Dake (Hardware Focus, Software and Hardware Integration)

Strydr Silverberg (Software Focus, Software and Hardware Integration)

Weeks 1–3

Mechanical design, CAD, BOM

System architecture, interface design

Weeks 4–7

Frame construction, wiring, motors

Chess engine, motion control software

Weeks 8–10

Sensor integration, calibration

Game logic, UI, error handling

Weeks 11–12

Mechanical refinement

Documentation, testing scripts