Matthew Pidden, a 22-year-old graduate student at the University of Bristol, recently achieved a remarkable first. Notably, he programmed his robot, “Revenger,” to conquer the four by four Rubik’s cube—colloquially called “Rubik’s Revenge”—in only 45.305 seconds! This achievement breaks the former world record of 1 minute and 18 seconds by a groundbreaking 33 seconds. It showcases the amazing advances in robotics and programming today.
Péter Sebestény developed the four-by-four Rubik’s cube in 1981. Since then, it has enthralled fans and emerged to puzzle lovers’ delight as a favorite riddle. Pidden also spent 15 weeks constructing and training “Revenger.” He made sure the robot could truly manipulate the cube’s faces as well as create short and efficient solutions using a home-made algorithm based on his own studies.
Rankin’s “Revenger” uses two webcams to photograph the cube from all angles, helping it figure out exactly what needs to be done to solve it. The robot’s design is entirely self-built, reflecting Pidden’s commitment to his project for his computer science bachelor’s degree.
Pidden shared his enthusiasm for Rubik’s cubes. He explained, “I was really into Rubik’s cubes as a kid and I wanted for my capstone project to do something that I was really passionate about doing. As was evident during the symposium, his technical passion for the puzzle comes from its mathematical complexities, which he finds endlessly intriguing.
The robot’s swift performance puts it in an elite category of Rubik’s cube solvers. The human world record for solving a regular three-by-three cube is 15.71 seconds. Pidden’s success with “Revenger” highlights just how faster and more efficient robotics are the key to solving today’s complex problems.