Students at the Swinburne University of Technology have developed what is now being touted as the world’s fastest Rubik’s Cube-solving robot.
The robot is named Ruby, and it was announced recently that it can solve the Rubik’s cube in 10.69 seconds, and that includes the time it takes to scan the initial status of the cube. The team of 6 included Daniel Purvis, Jarrod Boyes, Miriam Parkinson, identical twin computer whiz kids David and Richard Bain and Jonathan Goldwasser.
The idea is to make the robot scan the Rubik cube with the help of a web cam and then use a special algorithm that would allow the high-speed robot to solve the puzzle like it is a piece of cake. The technology consists of a fast computer vision-tracking system which is enhanced by a web cam and also an algorithm implemented by a software.
A real-time embedded control system helps the robot to make high precision movements related to motor areas, and also time the solving of the puzzle accurately. While this may sound frivolous to people who do not care much about Rubik’s cubes, the development of such a robot could have great and profound implications in the field of robotics and may one day help to solve other puzzles that have been bogging down scientists around the world.
The Rubik Cube has been one of the most difficult puzzles to solve ever, and men and women have tried for days together to solve it, and then thrown their hands up in the air in exasperation and begun to solve it all over again. Thanks to Robotic technology and advanced computing, automated Rubik Cube solutions were developed, and back in October 2010 the Cubinator was the world’s fastest Rubik’s Cube solving robot. It could solve at a speed of 18.2 seconds.
If you are tired of robots that solve puzzles, you could take a look at the Rubik’s Cube Coffee Table, and the Lego Rubik’s Cube Mod.