Blink twice. Within that time, a robot built by Purdue University students would have already solved a Rubik’s Cube – and waited for you to catch up. Called “Purdubik’s Cube,” the robot set a new Guinness World Record by completing the classic puzzle in just 0.103 seconds. That’s faster than the average human blink and nearly 30 times quicker than the fastest human solve.
The previous robotic champ, created by Mitsubishi Electric engineers in Japan, clocked in at 0.305 seconds. Purdue’s undergraduate team – Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, Matthew Patrohay, and Alex Berta – sliced that time by two-thirds.
The system uses machine vision to recognize colors, custom algorithms optimized for speed, and industrial-grade motion control hardware from Kollmorgen. Every movement is executed with sub-millisecond precision, using finely tuned motion profiles to maximize efficiency and acceleration.
Spectators can get in on the action, too. A Bluetooth-connected smart cube lets users scramble a digital twin, while the robot mirrors every twist in real time. The moment the last move is registered, motors roar to life, colors blur, and the cube snaps back to perfection – often before jaws hit the floor.
The project was co-sponsored by Purdue’s Institute for Control, Optimization and Networks (ICON). Shreyas Sundaram, ICON co-director and professor of electrical and computer engineering, called the project a continuation of Purdue’s long tradition of innovation in control systems, dating back to the Apollo era.
Now, the team has its sights set on breaking the mythical double-digit millisecond barrier – a feat that might make the next world record not just hard to beat, but nearly impossible to see.