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Purdue ECE students shatter Guinness World Record for fastest puzzle cube-solving robot

Purdubik's Cube, the new record-holding, cube-solving robot. [Credit: Purdue University Elmore Family School of ECE]

 

 

 

 

Solving a Rubik's Cube is a challenge for most people. For a team of students from Purdue University's Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, it became an opportunity to redefine the limits of speed, precision, and automation -- and officially make history.

Meet Purdubik's Cube -- a high-speed robotic system that now holds the Guinness World Record for "Fastest robot to solve a puzzle cube," clocking in at a jaw-dropping 0.103 seconds. That's faster than the blink of an eye, and nearly three times faster than the previous official record of 0.305 seconds set by Mitsubishi Electric engineers in Japan in May 2024 (see the Designfax article here, which includes the motor equipment that team used).

The Purdue team, Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, Matthew Patrohay, and Alex Berta, has not only shattered that record, but now has the official Guinness certification to prove it.

VIDEO: Purdue ECE students shatter Guinness World Record for "Fastest Puzzle Cube-Solving Robot." [Credit: Purdue University Elmore Family School of ECE]

The story behind this record-breaking feat didn't begin in a lab. It started with Purdue's Cooperative Education Program (co-op), which brought Hurd, Ota, and Patrohay together.

"Our team came together because of the co-op program," said Hurd. "It helped us build not only the friendships that led to this collaboration, but also the professional and technical skills we needed to actually pull it off."

The students invested time and, in some cases, money earned during co-op rotations, into building the robot. Their real-world experiences also helped them secure corporate sponsorships to support the ambitious project.

The setup for the Purdubik's Cube, showing the main robot with motors, vision system, electronics, and controls systems. [Credit: Purdue University Elmore Family School of ECE]

 

 

 

 

For Patrohay, the motivation goes back even further.

"I always say that my inspiration was a previous world record holder," he said. "Back in high school, I saw a video of MIT students solving the cube in 380 milliseconds. I thought, 'That's a really cool project. I'd love to try and beat it someday.' Now here I am at Purdue -- proving we can go even faster."

Purdubik's Cube was first unveiled at SPARK, Purdue ECE's student design competition, where it took home first place in December 2024. The team continued refining the robot after the event, relentlessly pushing the limits of modern automation and high-speed computing.

The system uses machine vision for color recognition, custom solving algorithms optimized for execution time, and industrial-grade motion control hardware from Kollmorgen. Every move is executed with finely tuned motion profiles to maximize acceleration, deceleration, and mechanical efficiency, resulting in precisely coordinated sub-millisecond control.

Detail of one of the Kollmorgen servo motors used in the Purdubik's Cube machine. [Credit: Purdue University Elmore Family School of ECE]

 

 

 

 

There are six Kollmorgen AKM2G-24F low-voltage servo motors used in the machine. The motors are known for their compact form and increased torque -- and for their blistering speed, of course. Standard winding choices for the AKM2G are 120 VAC to 480 VAC operation, and low-voltage winding choices for 24 to 96 V (VDC or VAC) with various speed/torque performance curves. The line is available in six frame sizes overall (58 to 192 mm). For the Kollmorgen AKM2G-24F models used, the rated speed is 3,400 RPM and the max speed is 8,000 RPM. Max peak torque is 5.97 Nm.

Specs for the Kollmorgen AKM2G motor model options. [Credit: Courtesy of Kollmorgen]

 

 

 

 

The project was co-sponsored by Purdue's Institute for Control, Optimization and Networks (ICON). Shreyas Sundaram, Marie Gordon Professor of ECE and co-director of ICON, sees the achievement as part of Purdue's long tradition of engineering innovation.

"From the days of the Apollo program, Purdue researchers and students have been designing control systems that enable groundbreaking new capabilities," said Sundaram. "The Purdubik's Cube team is a prime example of how Purdue is bringing algorithms, robotics, and control together to achieve great feats of engineering."

The team, (from left) Matthew Patrohay, Aden Hurd, Junpei Ota, and Milind Kulkarni, the Michael and Katherine Birck Head and Professor of the Elmore Family School of ECE, is shown with their record-setting robot. [Credit: Purdue University Elmore Family School of ECE]

 

 

 

 

The team also designed the experience of running the robot to be interactive. Using a Bluetooth-enabled "Smart Cube," users can scramble the puzzle for the robot in real time, and the robot solves the cube instantly once the scramble is complete.

Beyond the record-breaking speed, the project represents a culmination of years of learning and collaboration.

"What I really love about it is that senior design allowed us to bring together everything we've learned," said Patrohay. "From our freshman year on, you build skills -- but this project showed how they all come together to create something meaningful."

And that incredible speed? It defies comprehension.

"We solve in 103 milliseconds," Patrohay said. "A human blink takes about 200 to 300 milliseconds. So, before you even realize it's moving, we've solved it."

Nak-seung Patrick Hyun, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, mentored the student team.

"This achievement isn't just about breaking a record, it pushes the boundaries of what synthetic systems can do," said Hyun. "It brings us closer to understanding ultra-fast coordinated control systems like those found in nature."

Milind Kulkarni, the Michael and Katherine Birck Head and Professor of Purdue ECE, says the project is a shining example of the school's commitment to hands-on learning and technical excellence.

"Take brilliant students, give them the tools and opportunities, and they'll blow your mind," said Kulkarni. "Four undergraduate ECE students, in less than a year, crushed a record set by a world-class team at Mitsubishi. I always say we have the best ECE students in the country -- and this proves it. I couldn't be more proud."

Whether it's smashing records, demonstrating machine intelligence, or inspiring the next generation of engineers, Purdubik's Cube is more than a fast robot. It's a world-class symbol of innovation at Purdue.

Designfax Editor's Note: World record cube-solving attempts must pass stringent World Cube Association (WCA) regulations, which include: "Puzzles must be scrambled using computer-generated random scramble sequences." The scrambling is done by an event-designated "scrambler." GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS takes WCA regulations into account when certifying results.

Sources: Purdue University Elmore Family School of ECE (main article), Kollmorgen

Published May 2025

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