Mitsubishi Robot Solves Rubik's Cube in Less Than Half a Second

If you want to see it, don't blink.

Last month, Mitsubishi Electric set a new Guinness World Record. The young team outfitted a robot with high-speed, high-precision factory automation equipment and control technology, and made it the fastest robot ever to solve a puzzle cube, more commonly referred to as a Rubik's cube. If you want to see it, don't blink.

The video of the achievement was recorded on May 7, 2024, and the precision is notable because, as many observers have noted, it's impressive that the robot could rotate the cube's layers so fast without shattering the toy.

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The robot solved the puzzle in less than a second, 0.305 seconds exactly, besting the previous record by 0.075 seconds—Mitsubishi also owned the previous record of 0.38 seconds. 

The TOKUI Fast Accurate Synchronized Motion Testing Robot (TOKUFASTbot), which was named by its engineer, can execute a 90° rotation in 0.009 (nine thousandths) of a second. The team built the rotation mechanism using Mitsubishi Electric's compact, high-power, signal-responsive servomotors and a color-recognition algorithm developed with proprietary AI technology.

Furthermore, the servomotors, programmable controller, industrial PC, touch panel display and cameras were designed to achieve high-speed signal connection and inter-device control.

The company has been developing and manufacturing high-tech motors, power semiconductors, and related products since it established its Component Production Engineering Center in 2016.

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