Robot Beats Guinness World Record of Fastest in the World to Solve Puzzle Cube

It's been a while since I've heard anything about the Guinness World Records. When I was a kid, I felt like I heard about it all the time, partly due to Ripley's Believe It Or Not show and museums. So to my utter enjoyment, this morning I heard about a robot that has just been awarded a new Guinness World Record for being the fastest to solve a puzzle cube—or as we all refer to them—Rubik's Cubes.

The robot in question is the TOKUI Fast Accurate Synchronized Motion Testing Robot, or TOKUFASTbot, developed by a young engineering team from Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.

Awarded on May 21, 2024, the previous record of 0.38 seconds was beaten by TOKUFASTbot's time of 0.305 seconds. That's only 0.075 seconds faster. The team worked to set the world record as a demonstration of the technical capabilities of high-tech motors, power semiconductors, and related products developed and manufactured by its Component Production Engineering Center. Established in 2016, this center produces technologies that achieve high-speed and high-precision windings that increase the productivity and efficiency of motors used in many of the products.

The TOKUFASTbot can perform a 90-degree rotation time of 0.009 seconds with its rotation mechanism built by Mitsubishi Electric's compact, high-power, signal-responsive servomotors and a color-recognition algorithm developed with proprietary AI (artificial intelligence) technology. The high-speed signal connection and inter-device control come from the servomotors as well as a PLC, industrial PC, touch panel display, and cameras.

Watch the videos below to see just how fast 0.305 seconds really is.