A student at the University of Bristol used a robot he made himself to break the world record for solving a 4×4 Rubik’s cube. Pidden, aged 22, spent 15 weeks making Revenger for his computer science final project.
Revenger finished the tough puzzle in 45.305 seconds, which is 33 seconds faster than the previous record set by another robot. Even though Max Park is the fastest human with a time of 15.71 seconds, Pidden’s robot has made a big difference in robotic speedcubing.
I was interested in Rubik’s cubes when I was a child. Pidden told BBC Points West that he picked his final project because he was really interested in it. “Mathematically, they’re really interesting. Seeing someone solve a Rubik’s cube in a video made me think it was a lot of fun.
The robot uses two webcams to read the cube’s layout, has a custom-built face-turning system, and relies on Pidden’s own algorithm to solve it as fast as possible.
The Rubik’s Cube, which Hungarian sculptor Ern? Rubik created in 1974, has attracted the attention of puzzlers and engineers for years. The 4×4 version, which is called ‘Rubik’s Revenge,’ was invented in 1981 by Hungarian designer Péter Sebestény and is harder because it has more pieces.
Having broken this record, Pidden now looks forward to starting a master’s degree in robotics at Imperial College London and continuing his work at the junction of mathematics, programming, and engineering.
His impressive success shows what happens when curiosity and technical ability come together, and it could encourage many more robotic record attempts.
