Rubik’s Cube Solved In a Blink, New Record Set

Records are made to be broken, but when it comes to the fastest robot to solve a Rubik’s Cube, progress seems almost maxed out: the newest record is an astonishing 103 milliseconds.

Kudos to the record-breaking team—undergraduate engineers from Purdue University in the US: Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, Matthew Patrohay, and Alex Berta. Their feat is officially recognized by Guinness World Records site.

Blazing-Fast Rubik’s Cube Robot Breaks Records with Innovative Design

This new time is quicker than a blink and surpasses the previous 305-millisecond record set by Mitsubishi’s team. Remarkably, it was only nine years ago that the record first dipped below one second.

“Before you even realize it’s solved, we’ve solved it,” says Patrohay. “Before you even realize it’s moving, we’ve solved it.”

The Purdubik’s Cube, an ultra-fast robot solving the cube, incorporates several innovations. First, its designers redesigned and reinforced the cube to prevent it from falling apart during solving.

Next, it uses a machine vision system that can accurately identify the positions of the colored blocks at any moment, along with custom algorithms developed by the students to determine the most efficient way to rotate the blocks and solve the puzzle.

The team also fine-tuned the cube to optimize acceleration and deceleration, allowing for control at sub-millisecond speeds. Combined, these advancements create a machine that redefines the limits of high-speed object manipulation.

“This accomplishment goes beyond breaking a record; it expands the possibilities of what artificial systems are capable of,” says Nak-seung Patrick Hyun, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue and mentor to the students.

“It helps us better understand ultra-fast coordinated control systems similar to those seen in nature.”

Purdubik’s Cube Debuts and Innovates with Remote Bluetooth Challenge

The Purdubik’s Cube debuted publicly in December at a student design competition. Since then, its creators have continuously improved its performance, even establishing a remote Bluetooth connection that allows anyone to scramble a cube and challenge the robot to solve it.

If you’re curious how humans stack up against robots in this challenge, the fastest human solve time is an impressive 3.05 seconds, held by 7-year-old Xuanyi Geng from China. There are also many unusual related records—for instance, the fastest time solving a Rubik’s Cube while riding a bicycleis 9.03 seconds.

This latest achievement builds on a rich history. The Rubik’s Cube has been around since the 1970s, and the current record breakers drew inspiration from earlier speed records.

“I always say my inspiration came from a previous world record holder,” Patrohay explains.

“In high school, I watched a video of MIT students solving the cube in 380 milliseconds. I thought, ‘That’s an awesome project—I’d love to beat it someday.’ Now, here I am at Purdue, showing we can go even faster.”

Read the original article on: Sciencealert

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