List of cube solving robots

2014-03-08T00:09:31Z

Deepcube: /* Cube solving robots */

Constructing a [[Cube solving robot|robot]] capable of solving a [[cube | Rubik's cube]] "on its own" has been a popular challenge for engineers, with many different designs over the years.

== Cube solving robots ==
"Full solve time" is the average solving time including inspection.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Creator
! Year
! Puzzle(s)
! Method
! Full solve time
! Mechanism
! Videos
! Notes
|-
| Deep Cube
| Evan Gates
| 2004
| [[3x3x3]]
| [[Kociemba]]
| ~10 seconds
| 6 arms (6DOF)
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjL4FgVI3Bc YouTube video]
| [https://uncletyson.wordpress.com/tag/evan-gates/ Story by Evan Gates]
No working cameras, kept internal state.
|-
| CubeStormer
| Mike Dobson
| 2010
| 3x3x3
| [[Kociemba]]
| ?
| LEGO MINDSTORMS RCX, Four orthogonal turning arms (8 DOF)
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaRcWB3jwMo YouTube Video]
|
|-
| Rowan University Cube Solving Machine (?)
| Zach Grady and Joe Ridgeway (at Rowan University)
| 2010
| 3x3x3
| ?
| ~15 seconds
| PLC and aluminum parts, cube turning on a corner base and an extending "stepper" (3 DOF)
| [http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?26083-My-Rubiks-cube-solving-robot Thread] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hk5DFxxTu0 Demonstration] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goTn0-20BAE Interview]
|
|-
| ARM Powered LEGO/Nokia 4x4x4 Rubik's Cube Solver
| David Gilday (ARM Principal Engineer)
| 2009
| [[4x4x4]]
| creator's own table driven algorithm
| 19min for 4x4x4
| Symbian phone (with Java app) controlling LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT y-turntable, hinged hold/lift and x-spin (3 DOF)
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=052JJGBxFH0 Video of 4x4x4 solve]
|
|-
| ARM Speedcuber
| David Gilday (ARM Principal Engineer)
| 2010
| 3x3x3
| creator's own 2-phase algorithm
| 15s ("for a good solve")
| Android phone (native app in C++), LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, Four arms (6 DOF)
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77dbG6DPW_c Video of Demonstration at ARM Techcon 2010]
| ARM Powered LEGO/Nokia 4x4x4 Rubik's Cube Solver
|-
| ARM Powered Android LEGO MultiCuber 777
| David Gilday (ARM Principal Engineer)
| 2010
| [[7x7x7]]
| creator's own generic table driven algorithm capable of solving any cube size
| 40min for a 7x7x7
| Android phone (Java app), LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, Vertical arm with x pivot and y-rotating cage. (3 DOF)
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5b9BIBuOd4 Video of a 7x7x7 Solve]
| [http://blogs.arm.com/smart-mobile-devices/254-how-i-created-the-arm-powered-android-lego-7x7x7-cube-solving-robot/ Blog Post by David]
|-
| ARM Powered Android Megaminxer
| David Gilday (ARM Principal Engineer)
| 2010
| [[Megaminx]]
| creator's own table driven algorithm
| 8 min
| Android phone (Java app), LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, Vertical arm with x pivot, y-spin and y-rotating cage. (3 DOF)
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-S30fS944M Video of Megaminx solve]
| [http://blogs.arm.com/smart-mobile-devices/451-oh-no-not-another-arm-powered-lego-rubiks-cube-solver/ Blog Post by David]
|-
| RuBot
| Pete Redmond (from Dublin, Ireland)
| 2006
| 3x3x3
|
|
| Two perpendicular arms (4 DOF)
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgrYUTy5Q14 RuBot Prototype] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkft2qaKv_o RuBot II Demonstration]
|
|-
| Robot Ruby
| David Bain, Richard Bain, Daniel Purvis, Jarrod Boyes, Miriam Parkinson and Jonathan Goldwasser (Swinburne University of Technology)
| 2011
| 3x3x3
| Kociemba
| ~10s (including inspection)
| Two perpendicular arms (4 DOF)
| [http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?29667-Robot-Rubik-s-Cube-Solve-10.18 Thread] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWtBTKpWVXk Robot Ruby Demonstration] (with a timer that counts frames instead of 100ths of a second?)| [http://www.swinburne.edu.au/chancellery/mediacentre/media-centre/news/2011/05/robot-ruby-breaks-rubiks-record Article on the Swinburne Website]
[http://www.theage.com.au/technology/sci-tech/meet-ruby-the-recordbreaking-robot-that-solves-rubiks-cube-20110601-1fgbc.html Article from The Age]
|-
| CubeStormer II
| Mike Dobson and David Gilday
| 2011
| 3x3x3
| David Gilday's two-phase algorithm
| (unofficial) best 4.762s, average ~5.9s (200 solves)
| LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT and Samsung GALAXY S II smartphone. Four orthogonal turning arms (8 DOF)
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d0LfkIut2M CubeStormer II (YouTube video)] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqJF3tKDnrA CubeStormer II - Seeing is Believing (YouTube video)] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JykMPW-SYQQ This is AMAZING! The CubeStormer ll breaks world record at ARM TechCon 2011 (YouTube video)]
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_RtMLIuozM CubeStormer II - David Gilday & Mike Dobson - ARM TechCon 2011 (YouTube video)] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS3-LiIQzYQ Solving the Rubik's Cube - ARM TechCon 2011 - David Gilday talks with Tomas Rokicki (YouTube video)]
Guinness World Record: 5.270s set on 11th Nov 2011 at [http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-11/11/cubestormer-ii-world-record Wired.co.uk (Article and video)]
|-
| MindCuber
| David Gilday
| 2011
| 3x3x3 and [[Void Cube]]
| 9 stage table driven
| 1m55s (2m30s with published software)
| constructed from just a single LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 kit. One pull/push tilt arm and turntable (2?DOF)
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw1BgD72vaA MindCuber (YouTube video)] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QL5DZBo8WQ ARM Powered® MindCuber solves Void Cube (YouTube video)]
| [http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/News/ReadMore/Default.aspx?id=423825 MindCuber bonus model instructions and software on LEGO MINDSTORMS site] [http://mindcuber.com MindCuber home page]
|-
| MicroCuber
| David Gilday
| 2012
| Microbic (12mm 3x3x3)
| 5 stage table driven
| 7 mins
| Sony Xperia Mini smartphone, Android App. and LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT mechanics. Push/push, hold and turntable (3 DOF?)
| [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdaacsfGQs4 MicroCuber (YouTube video)]
|
|}

== Original list ==

=== Deep Cube ===

Creator: Evan Gates

Year: 2004

Puzzle: [[3x3x3]]

Solution Method: ?

Mechanism: 6 arms (6DOF)

[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2084071621500271233# Video]
[http://uncletyson.wordpress.com/tag/evan-gates/ Story]

=== CubeStormer ===

Creator: Mike Dobson

Year: 2010

Puzzle: 3x3x3

Solution Method: [[Kociemba]]

Mechanism: LEGO MINDSTORMS RCX, Four orthogonal turning arms (8 DOF)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaRcWB3jwMo YouTube Video]

=== Rowan University Cube Solving Machine (?) ===

Creators: Zach Grady and Joe Ridgeway (at Rowan University)

Year: 2010

Puzzle: 3x3x3

Solution Method: ?

Full Solve Time: ~15 seconds

Mechanism: PLC and aluminum parts, cube turning on a corner base and an extending "stepper" (3 DOF)

[http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?26083-My-Rubiks-cube-solving-robot Thread]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hk5DFxxTu0 Demonstration]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goTn0-20BAE Interview]

=== ARM Powered LEGO/Nokia 4x4x4 Rubik's Cube Solver ===

Creator: David Gilday (ARM Principal Engineer)

Year: 2009

Puzzle: [[4x4x4]]

Solution Method: creator's own table driven algorithm

Full Solve Time: 19min for 4x4x4

Mechanism: Symbian phone (with Java app) controlling LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT y-turntable, hinged hold/lift and x-spin (3 DOF)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=052JJGBxFH0 Video of 4x4x4 solve]

=== ARM Speedcuber ===

Creator: David Gilday (ARM Principal Engineer)

Year: 2010

Puzzle: 3x3x3

Solution Method: creator's own 2-phase algorithm

Full Solve Time: 15s ("for a good solve")

Mechanism: Android phone (native app in C++), LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, Four arms (6 DOF)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77dbG6DPW_c Video of Demonstration at ARM Techcon 2010]

ARM Powered LEGO/Nokia 4x4x4 Rubik's Cube Solver

=== ARM Powered Android LEGO MultiCuber 777 ===

Creator: David Gilday (ARM Principal Engineer)

Year: 2010

Puzzle: [[7x7x7]]

Solution Method: creator's own generic table driven algorithm capable of solving any cube size

Full Solve Time: 40min for a 7x7x7

Mechanism: Android phone (Java app), LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, Vertical arm with x pivot and y-rotating cage. (3 DOF)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5b9BIBuOd4 Video of a 7x7x7 Solve]
[http://blogs.arm.com/smart-mobile-devices/254-how-i-created-the-arm-powered-android-lego-7x7x7-cube-solving-robot/ Blog Post by David]

=== ARM Powered Android Megaminxer ===

Creator: David Gilday (ARM Principal Engineer)

Year: 2010

Puzzle: [[Megaminx]]

Solution Method: creator's own table driven algorithm

Full Solve Time: 8mins

Mechanism: Android phone (Java app), LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, Vertical arm with x pivot, y-spin and y-rotating cage. (3 DOF)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-S30fS944M Video of Megaminx solve]
[http://blogs.arm.com/smart-mobile-devices/451-oh-no-not-another-arm-powered-lego-rubiks-cube-solver/ Blog Post by David]

=== RuBot ===

Creators: Pete Redmond (from Dublin, Ireland)

Year: 2006

Puzzle: 3x3x3

Solution Method: ?

Full Solve Time: ?

Mechanism: Two perpendicular arms (4 DOF)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgrYUTy5Q14 RuBot Prototype]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkft2qaKv_o RuBot II Demonstration]

=== Robot Ruby ===

Creators: David Bain, Richard Bain, Daniel Purvis, Jarrod Boyes, Miriam Parkinson and Jonathan Goldwasser (Swinburne University of Technology)

Year: 2011

Solution Method: Kociemba

Full Solve Time: ~10s (including inspection)

Mechanism: Two perpendicular arms (4 DOF)

[http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?29667-Robot-Rubik-s-Cube-Solve-10.18 Thread]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWtBTKpWVXk Robot Ruby Demonstration] (with a timer that counts frames instead of 100ths of a second?)
[http://www.swinburne.edu.au/chancellery/mediacentre/media-centre/news/2011/05/robot-ruby-breaks-rubiks-record Article on the Swinburne Website]
[http://www.theage.com.au/technology/sci-tech/meet-ruby-the-recordbreaking-robot-that-solves-rubiks-cube-20110601-1fgbc.html Article from The Age]

=== CubeStormer II ===

Creator: Mike Dobson and David Gilday

Year: 2011

Puzzle: 3x3x3

Solution Method: David Gilday's two-phase algorithm

Full Solve Time (including inspection): (unofficial) best 4.762s, average ~5.9s (200 solves)

Guinness World Record: 5.270s set on 11th Nov 2011 at [http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-11/11/cubestormer-ii-world-record Wired.co.uk (Article and video)]

Mechanism: LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT and Samsung GALAXY S II smartphone. Four orthogonal turning arms (8 DOF)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d0LfkIut2M CubeStormer II (YouTube video)] 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqJF3tKDnrA CubeStormer II - Seeing is Believing (YouTube video)] 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JykMPW-SYQQ This is AMAZING! The CubeStormer ll breaks world record at ARM TechCon 2011 (YouTube video)] 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_RtMLIuozM CubeStormer II - David Gilday & Mike Dobson - ARM TechCon 2011 (YouTube video)] 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS3-LiIQzYQ Solving the Rubik's Cube - ARM TechCon 2011 - David Gilday talks with Tomas Rokicki (YouTube video)]

=== MindCuber ===

Creator: David Gilday

Year: 2011

Puzzle: 3x3x3 and Void Cube

Solution Method: 9 stage table driven

Full Solve Time (including inspection): average around 1m55s (2m30s with published software)

Mechanism: constructed from just a single LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 kit. One pull/push tilt arm and turntable (2?DOF)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw1BgD72vaA MindCuber (YouTube video)] 
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QL5DZBo8WQ ARM Powered® MindCuber solves Void Cube (YouTube video)] 
[http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/News/ReadMore/Default.aspx?id=423825 MindCuber bonus model instructions and software on LEGO MINDSTORMS site] 
[http://mindcuber.com MindCuber home page] 

=== MicroCuber ===

Creator: David Gilday

Year: 2012

Puzzle: Microbic (12mm 3x3x3)

Solution Method: 5 stage table driven

Full Solve Time (including inspection): average around 7 minutes

Mechanism: Sony Xperia Mini smartphone, Android App. and LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT mechanics. Push/push, hold and turntable (3 DOF?)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdaacsfGQs4 MicroCuber (YouTube video)] 

[[Category:Physical objects]]
[[Category:Lists|cube solving robots]]

Speedsolving.com Wiki - User contributions [en]

List of cube solving robots