How fast can you solve a Rubik’s Cube? Or perhaps a better question is can you solve a Rubik’s Cube? Not everyone has what it takes to make their way through ErnÅ‘ Rubik’s combination puzzle box. Even among the best cubers, the world record for the fastest Rubik’s Cube completion is 4.59 seconds. But now, machine has overtaken man with a robot capable of solving a Rubik’s Cube in under a second.
Found via Laughing Squid, Ben Katz and Jared Di Carlo created a robot that solved a Rubik’s Cube in just 0.38 seconds. At normal speed, it happens so quickly that the human eye can barely see the cube move. It simply looks like the colors are shifting around with incredible speed. Only when the footage is slowed down are we able to perceive the way the machine expertly manipulated the cube. But at this rate, accidents are bound to happen. Katz and Di Carlo also shared a video which depicts their machine destroying a cube which simply couldn’t withstand the rapid moves.
Katz and Di Carlo documented the creation of their robot here, where they noted that they had more success if the cube was tightened before the robot got a hold of it. This is far from the first Rubik’s Cube solving robot, but it easily outperforms RuBot II, which was once billed as the fastest Rubik’s Cube solving robot in the world. The honor may have been claimed by this new machine, but at least RuBot II tried to show off a little personality.
What did you think about the new Rubik’s Cube solving robot? Let us know in the comment section below!
Image: Ben Katz
Robots, robots everywhere!
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