Qixin Lin¹ and Owen Miller², ¹USA, ²California State Polytechnic University, USA

Chess is a widely played game, but accessibility barriers can prevent many people from fully engaging with it. This project aims to study and create a more accessible chess application that integrates AI features to help with usability. The program features 3 main systems, a speech-to-command system that allows players to make moves using voice input, a text-to-speech system to give audio feedback on board states, and a system for move validation to make sure the AI output is more accurate [1]. To test the system, we did an experiment where users provided voice inputs, and we compared them to what the AI thought they said to look for the most common mistakes in the AI's output. This showed that most simple commands were accurately processed, but more complex phrases and words that could be spelled in multiple ways gave it more trouble [9]. We were able to use those tests to look for cases of slight errors and adjust for them to improve our speech command's accuracy. This project helps demonstrate how AI features can enhance accessibility features to promote more inclusive gameplay.

Accessible Chess, AI-Powered Usability, Speech-to-Command System, Inclusive Gameplay