Purdue University Breaks Rubik’s Cube Record

A team from Purdue University has achieved a remarkable feat by breaking the record for the fastest Rubik’s Cube resolution. Their robot, named Purdubiks Cube, solved the puzzle in an astonishing 0.103 milliseconds, setting a new standard that outpaces the previous record, held by Mitsubishi, by over two and a half seconds.

The project was led by Matthew Patrohay, who drew inspiration from previous record holders and aimed to push the limits himself. Team members Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, and Alex Berta joined in on the effort, ultimately surpassing Mitsubishi’s record by a whole second. The rapid progress of the robot can be a bit mind-boggling—in fact, for context, a human blink typically takes about 200 to 300 milliseconds.

Patrohay mentioned that one of the challenges faced during development was the need to redesign the cube to endure the immense force exerted during such quick resolutions. “The cube itself just collapses,” he noted, adding that the pieces were prone to snapping and falling apart.

Public Reaction

The team’s accomplishment gained traction on social media, where a video of their robot sparked astonishment and disbelief among viewers. Comments ranged from expressions of awe—like “I literally blinked and missed it the first time”—to curiosity about how the cube could be solved so rapidly without disintegrating.

The Purdubiks Cube initially made its debut at Spark, a student design competition at Purdue focused on Electrical and Computer Engineering, where it took first place in December 2024. Following that initial success, the team has continued to explore the frontiers of automation and rapid computing.

What’s particularly striking about the Purdubiks Cube is its interactivity. The robot utilizes a Bluetooth-enabled “Smart Cube,” allowing users to scramble the puzzle in real time while the robot processes the moves and resolves the cube almost instantly after scrambling.