A student from the University of Bristol has set a new world record for solving a 4×4 Rubik’s Cube using a robot, surpassing the previous record by 33 seconds.
Matthew Pidden, a 22-year-old computer science student, designed and built the robot, named “The Revenger,” over 15 weeks as part of his final year project. The robot completed the puzzle in 45.305 seconds, significantly faster than the previous record of 1 minute and 18 seconds set by David Gilday’s Multicuber 3 in 2011 .
The Revenger employs two webcams to scan the cube, a custom-built mechanism to manipulate its faces, and a self-developed algorithm to determine efficient solutions. Pidden emphasized the challenge of synchronizing the scanning system, solver, and hardware to operate seamlessly and swiftly within a tight deadline .
Although the robot’s time is impressive, the human record for solving a 4×4 Rubik’s Cube remains faster at 15.71 seconds. Pidden hopes his achievement will inspire others to pursue ambitious projects, noting that he accomplished this feat in 15 weeks on a limited budget .
The results have been submitted to Guinness World Records for official verification.
