New video reveals that a Japanese robot set a world record in solving a Rubik’s Cube, in part because artificial intelligence (AI) assisted it in differentiating between the colored panels of the puzzle. In less time than a human eyeblink, the entire procedure is completed.
To enhance industrial automation machinery used in the production of electronics, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in Japan developed the world-record breaking “TOKUI Fast Accurate Synchronized Motion Testing Robot” (TOKUFASTbot).
The industrial computer is linked to a multi-axis motor and a high-speed camera, both of which are attached to six arms. According to a statement from Mitsubishi, the device can turn each arm 90 degrees in approximately 0.009 seconds.
Guinness World Records states that TOKUFASTbot achieved a new world record on May 21 when it solved a revolving 3x3x3 “puzzle cube” in 0.305 seconds. In 2018, an MIT robot set the previous record time of 0.38 seconds. The bionumbers database at Harvard University states that, in contrast, a human blink lasts between 0.1 and 0.4 seconds.
Max Park established the previous record in June 2023 with 3.13 seconds, which is roughly ten times faster than the new record.
The Mitsubishi video showcases the robot in action through slow-motion cameras. On May 7, TOKUFASTbot achieved an even faster time of 0.204 seconds, requiring approximately 15 moves to solve a puzzle cube. Mitsubishi representatives stated in the YouTube description of the video that it does not count since this attempt did not follow the “measurement rules” established by Guinness World Records.
As stated by Ars Technica, the cubes used in record attempts are simply called puzzle cubes due to a past trademark that was just reversed. Still, it’s quite likely that all of the items are Rubik’s Cubes, the famous toys made in 1974 by Hungarian architect and sculptor Ernő Rubik, who took a month to solve the first cube (mostly because it was colorless).
Dexterity and computational capacity are put to the test to solve the Rubik’s Cube, which has over 43 quintillion potential possibilities. To see how fast their creations can solve the riddles, robotics engineers have begun competing.
The primary constraint, aside from the velocity of the apparatus, is the speed at which the robots’ computer systems can interpret data. Ars Technica said that TOKUFASTbot’s AI algorithm, which accounts for minute variations in location, lighting, and shadows that can confuse a conventional color sensor, allows it to discern between the colors on the cubes’ panels, enables it to do very well in this sector.
Because red and orange’s wavelengths are closest to one another than any other hue combination, AIs find it most difficult to discern between these two colors, much like humans do, according to Ars Technica. Nonetheless, this issue was swiftly resolved by TOKUFASTbot’s AI.