Mitsubishi Electric Corp.’s robot solves a puzzle cube in 0.305 second, earning a place in Guinness World Records for the fastest time. (Video provided by Mitsubishi Electric Corp.)

Photo/Illutration Mitsubishi Electric Corp.’s robot that solved a puzzle cube in 0.305 second (Provided by Mitsubishi Electric Corp.)

A robot developed by five young engineers at Mitsubishi Electric Corp. was recognized by Guinness World Records as the fastest to solve a 3x3x3 puzzle cube--almost as quickly as the blink of an eye.

The best known among this type of three-dimensional combination puzzles is Rubik’s Cube, which was invented in the 1970s by Hungarian sculptor and architect Erno Rubik.

Mitsubishi Electric’s robot solved the puzzle cube in 0.305 second, beating the previous record of 0.38 second, held by an American university, the company said.

When a human blinks, it lasts between 0.1 and 0.3 second.

It takes a little more than 3 seconds for the fastest person to solve the puzzle cube.

The five engineers, who work in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, began working on a prototype in September 2022.

The team applied technologies used for quickly and accurately positioning wires in motors for electric appliances, such as air conditioners and ventilating fans, enabling the robot to rotate one of the cube’s six faces by 90 degrees in 0.009 second.

The colors of individual panels were recognized by cameras and AI artificial intelligence technology.

The robot failed to solve the puzzle cube in its first attempt, and the team spent about 20 minutes adjusting the machine.

It succeeded on its second try, setting its own best record and also breaking the previous world record.

The team had one hour to set a new world record.

(This article was written by Satoshi Seii and Ryuichiro Fukuoka.)

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