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A Japanese robot has set a new world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube in the fastest time.
Guinness World Records recognized the time of 0.305 seconds set by the Mitsubishi Electric machine, beating the previous record by 0.075 seconds.
The robot’s time was more than 10 times faster than the best human time recorded at a Rubik’s Cube speed-solving event held in California last June.
Korean-American Max Park took just 3.13 seconds to solve the 3x3x3 rotating puzzle cube, more than a third of a second faster than the next fastest human.
The robot achieved this in 0.305 seconds, roughly the same time it takes a human to blink.
This latest record reflects the rapid progress being made in the field of robotics in recent years: In 2009, the world record for a robot solving a Rubik’s Cube was one minute and four seconds.
Mitsubishi Electric said it achieved the feat of rotating the cube 90 degrees in just 0.009 seconds by using “small, high-power, signal-responsive servo motors.”
The main limiting factor in setting an even faster time is the physics of the cube itself: early attempts were initially thwarted, with the speed and forces applied by the robot causing the puzzle to jam or break.
“It was difficult to shave as much time as possible, but it was fun at the same time,” Tokui, the Mitsubishi engineer who led the record attempt, told Guinness World Records.
Mitsubishi Electric’s Director Yoshimura Yuji added: “Since establishing our Parts Production Technology Centre in 2016, we have been developing and manufacturing high-tech motors, power semiconductors and related products.
“To demonstrate our technological capabilities in achieving high-speed, high-precision winding, which is key to increasing the productivity and efficiency of the motors used in many of our products, our young engineers independently set out to set a world record and received a Guinness World Records title. This has only served to motivate our engineers to further improve their technology.”
Since its invention in 1974 by Hungarian professor Erno Rubik, the Rubik’s Cube has become one of the most internationally recognized games in pop culture.
Over 500 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold worldwide and they remain popular to this day, with “how to solve a Rubik’s Cube” being one of the most popular Google searches in recent years.