Purdue Students' Robot Solves Rubik's Cube in 0.103 Seconds

Robot Solves Rubik's Cube in 0.103 Seconds—New World Record

West Lafayette, IN — Four undergraduate students at Purdue University have achieved what seemed impossible: building a robot that solves a Rubik's Cube in just over one-tenth of a second.

On May 12, 2025, their creation—dubbed "Purdubik's Cube"—officially set a new Guinness World Record by solving the iconic puzzle in 0.103 seconds. That's nearly three times faster than the previous record of 0.305 seconds, set by Mitsubishi Electric engineers in Japan just one year earlier.

To put this speed in perspective: the robot completes the entire puzzle faster than a human can blink. A typical eye blink takes 200-300 milliseconds—meaning the cube is solved before you'd even notice it moving.

The Team That Made History

The record-breaking robot is the brainchild of four friends from Purdue's Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering:

Junpei Ota
Aden Hurd
Matthew Patrohay (team lead)
Alex Berta

The team met through Purdue's Cooperative Education (Co-op) Program and developed their friendship while building technical skills through internships and coursework.

Working under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Nak-seung Patrick Hyun, the students designed and built the entire system during their senior year. The project was also co-sponsored by Purdue's Institute for Control, Optimization and Networks (ICON).

From High School Dream to World Record

The journey began years ago when Matthew Patrohay was in high school. After encountering Rubik's Cubes at a fourth-grade competition, he later discovered that MIT held the world record with a robot that solved the puzzle in 380 milliseconds.

That planted a seed.

"I thought, 'We could do better than that,'" Patrohay recalled.

By the time he and his teammates were seniors at Purdue, they had the skills, resources, and determination to make it happen. The team funded the project using their own co-op earnings and secured corporate sponsorships, including industrial-grade hardware support from Kollmorgen, a leader in motion control systems.

The Technology Behind Purdubik's Cube

Solving a Rubik's Cube in 0.103 seconds isn't just about speed—it requires bleeding-edge precision across multiple engineering disciplines.

Machine Vision and Recognition

The system uses advanced machine vision cameras to instantly recognize all six faces of the cube and identify each color square.

Optimized Solving Algorithms

Once the cube's state is captured, custom algorithms calculate the optimal solution in milliseconds. These aren't standard Rubik's Cube solving algorithms—they're specifically optimized for execution speed.

Sub-Millisecond Motion Control

The real engineering challenge lies in the physical execution. The robot uses industrial-grade motion control hardware from Kollmorgen with sub-millisecond precision timing.

Each rotation must be perfectly aligned, accelerated, and decelerated without overshooting or undershooting the target position—all while moving at extreme speeds.

"These turns are happening so quickly that it's hard to align them," Patrohay explained. "A lot of times, it'll overshoot or undershoot."

Synchronized Timing Optimization

Perhaps most impressively, the team optimized the timing between consecutive moves. Instead of waiting for one rotation to fully complete before starting the next, the system begins the next move slightly before the previous one finishes—shaving off precious milliseconds without causing mechanical interference.

Interactive Smart Cube Integration

The system even includes a Bluetooth-enabled "Smart Cube" that allows spectators to scramble the puzzle in real time. The robot mirrors every move, then instantly solves it once the scramble is complete—creating an engaging, interactive demonstration.

The Challenge: The Cube Itself Became the Bottleneck

Ironically, after all the engineering innovation, the team hit an unexpected limitation: the Rubik's Cube itself.

Standard Rubik's Cubes weren't designed to withstand the extreme mechanical forces generated by rotations happening in hundredths of a second. The cube's structure and internal mechanism simply cannot handle faster speeds without risk of structural failure.

"If we go any faster, the cube itself could disintegrate," the team noted.

They're now exploring whether a specially reinforced cube could be developed to push the boundaries even further.

First Prize at SPARK, Then World Record

The robot first made its public debut at SPARK, Purdue ECE's annual student design competition, in December 2024—where it took home first place.

After that success, the team continued refining the system, fine-tuning motion profiles, synchronization timing, and control algorithms. By May 2025, they were ready to submit their achievement for official Guinness World Record verification.

On May 12, 2025, Purdubik's Cube officially became the fastest robot to solve a puzzle cube in history.

Broader Impact: Pushing the Boundaries of Robotics

While solving a Rubik's Cube may seem like a novelty, the engineering breakthroughs have significant implications for the future of robotics and control systems.

Professor Shreyas Sundaram emphasized that the project demonstrates "how Purdue is bringing algorithms, robotics, and control together" to achieve unprecedented performance.

Assistant Professor Nak-seung Patrick Hyun, the team's mentor, highlighted the broader scientific value:

"This accomplishment isn't just about breaking a record; it pushes the boundaries of what synthetic systems can do. It brings us closer to understanding ultra-fast coordinated control systems like those found in nature."

Ultra-fast coordinated motion control has applications in:

Manufacturing automation requiring precision at high speeds
Surgical robotics where milliseconds matter
Autonomous vehicles needing split-second decision-making
Aerospace systems with rapid response requirements

A Viral Sensation

Videos of Purdubik's Cube in action have captivated millions online. The robot's performance is so fast that it appears almost magical—the cube seems to solve itself instantaneously.

The viral attention reflects enduring public fascination with both the Rubik's Cube—a puzzle that has challenged minds since 1974—and the rapid advancement of robotics technology.

What's Next?

For Matthew Patrohay, the record came at a perfect time. The NPR interview with the team took place on his graduation day from Purdue, marking both an academic achievement and a world-record milestone.

His immediate future includes starting a new job and traveling to Europe with his girlfriend. But for the Purdubik's Cube project itself, the possibilities remain open.

Could the team develop a reinforced cube capable of even faster solve times? Will other universities and companies race to beat their record? Only time will tell.

For now, Purdue University holds the crown—and has demonstrated that when brilliant students are given resources, mentorship, and freedom to innovate, extraordinary things happen.

Key Takeaways

Record Time: 0.103 seconds (nearly 3x faster than previous record)
Previous Record: 0.305 seconds (Mitsubishi Electric, May 2024)
Team: 4 Purdue ECE undergraduates + faculty mentor
Timeline: December 2024 SPARK debut → May 12, 2025 world record
Technology: Machine vision, custom algorithms, industrial motion control, sub-millisecond timing
Current Limitation: Physical structure of standard Rubik's Cubes
Broader Impact: Advances in ultra-fast coordinated control systems

About Purdue's Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Purdue ECE is consistently ranked among the top engineering programs in the United States, known for innovation in robotics, control systems, artificial intelligence, and more.

Last updated: October 24, 2025