MOL
BIRMINGHAM -The Guinness World Record for solving a Rubik’s Cube in the fastest time has today been smashed by a robot.
The Cubestormer 3 solved the cube in a speedy 3.253 seconds - much to the delight of spectators at the Big Bang Fair, held at the NEC in Birmingham.
The robot’s record-breaking time beat the previous non-human record of 5.27 seconds - set by the machine’s predecessor, the Cubestormer 2. Before that, the record stood at 10.69 seconds - achieved by a robot built by final year computing students at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia in 2011.
The Cubestormer 3 was built over 18 months by engineer co-designers David Gilday and Mike Dobson who were working with technology company ARMMobile. The machine uses an ARM-powered Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone to analyze the cube and instruct four robotic hands to do move the elements of the cube.
Speaking before the challenge, Dominic Vergine from ARM, said: ‘We are very confident the robot will break the record. ‘The new robot can think three times faster than its older brother. The record-breaking attempt is a bit of fun for us. ‘Our real focus is to demonstrate what can be achieved with readily-available technology to inspire young minds into taking a greater interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.’
The Big Bang Fair is an annual science, technology, engineering and maths event for young people aged between 7 and 19. About 65,000 schoolchildren attend the event - with organisers hoping a variety of showcases, talks and events will inspire them to pursue a career in science and technology. The Big Bang Fair also hosts the finals of the National Science + Engineering Competition - which rewards schoolchildren who have already excelled in science at school.
The event is perhaps inspired - in its title at least - by the hit US comedy show The Big Bang Theory, which follows the lives and careers of a group of young, nerdy scientists. The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Erno Rubik. It was originally called the Magic Cube, but was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp in 1980. It is widely regarded as one of the best-selling toys of all time - having sold 350million units in 2010.
The fastest human time to solve a cube was set in March last year by Mats Valk of the Netherlands who completed the challenge in an impressive 5.55 seconds. Amazingly, some talented fans can complete the cube with one hand - such as Feliks Zemdegs who holds the single-handed completion record of 9.03 seconds. Another top solver Fakhri Raihaan can complete the toy with his feet in just 27.93 seconds.