New 4x4x4 Rubik's cube solving machine

[Rufus31415]

Hi,
With a friend, we've been working for 2 years on a new mechanical kinematics for the fast resolution of Rubik's Cubes.
BallCuber is the first prototype that can solve a Revenge Cube.
This prototype doesn't include the scan yet, but it will come.
Likewise, we will work on more precise 3D printing and buy faster motors to enter the competition.
I hope you like this project!

More info : https://ballcuber.github.io

 

[aminayuko]

That is incredible! Does this mechanism scale to higher orders of cubes? Which program are you running to calculate the solve?

 

[2018AMSB02]

That is amazing! Nice job, I would have no idea where to start on a project like that. Good luck improving the design and making future projects!

Also, what do you mean by "the first prototype that can solve a revenge cube", can these not also do it?

I am also pretty sure the MultiCuber has solved a 9x9.

But nonetheless, nice job!

 

[Username: Username:]

Hi,
With a friend, we've been working for 2 years on a new mechanical kinematics for the fast resolution of Rubik's Cubes.
BallCuber is the first prototype that can solve a Revenge Cube.
This prototype doesn't include the scan yet, but it will come.
Likewise, we will work on more precise 3D printing and buy faster motors to enter the competition.
I hope you like this project!

More info : https://ballcuber.github.io

The machine looks so steampunk and intricate, the program must be messy, anyway that is an awesome solver!

 

[Rufus31415]

Thanks all!

That is amazing! Nice job, I would have no idea where to start on a project like that. Good luck improving the design and making future projects!

Also, what do you mean by "the first prototype that can solve a revenge cube", can these not also do it?

I am also pretty sure the MultiCuber has solved a 9x9.

But nonetheless, nice job!

By "the 1st prototype", I meant "the 1st prototype I'm making". I know David Gilday's MultiCuber robots well, they are very inspiring!

 

[Rufus31415]

That is incredible! Does this mechanism scale to higher orders of cubes? Which program are you running to calculate the solve?

Yes, this mechanism can work for any size, 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 5x5x5, nxnxn. The advantage of this mechanism is that each movement of a motor produces a cube move. There is no unnecessary and transitory moves to put the cube in place and waste time.
For the software part, you can find the source code here : https://github.com/ballcuber/ballcuber-source-code
This software is complex since there is image processing (with OpenCV), motor control (Arduino code and several libraries, such as MultiStepper, Sharer...), 3D visualization (twisty.js) and especially the solver (Three-Phase-Reduction solver algorithm).
Screenshots and explanations are here : https://ballcuber.github.io/supervision-software/

 

[Sub1Hour]

Very Impressive! I also like the closed-in approach that differs from the solving machines that @PingPongCuber mentioned. I'm very interested to see how this goes, also congrats on the patent.

Spoiler: My attempt at speaking decent french

Je suis très impressionné pour ton cube apparel! C'est très chouette! (excousses pour mon affreux français, J'apprende français a mon e'cole pour deux ans)

 

[ch_ts]

Maybe you could change the cover to clear plastic so you could see the cube being solved. That might be cool to see.

 

[Rufus31415]

Maybe you could change the cover to clear plastic so you could see the cube being solved. That might be cool to see.

It is indeed a solution that is being studied. Unfortunately, it is complicated to find a transparent material with low friction and good rigidity. Moreover, transparent materials for 3D printing are not 100% transparent, so it would be a bit opaque.
Our preferred idea would be to have a non-transparent material with a good coefficient of friction and use augmented reality to display the state of the cube inside. Anyone could flash with their phone QR code that would redirect to a page that positions the cube inside the machine as a hologram.