So, blink.
Did you do it?
Good.
Because in that time, a group of Purdue University students just solved a Rubik’s Cube.
I mean…they didn’t just solve it—they obliterated a world record while doing so.
Meet “Purdubik’s Cube,” the robot that cracked the colorful cube in a staggering 0.103 seconds. That’s faster than the average blink of a human eye, which lags behind at a sluggish 200-300 milliseconds. Take that, biology.
Purdubik’s Cube is the brainchild of four electrical and computer engineering students: Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, Matthew Patrohay, and Alex Berta. This project began as an entry in Purdue’s December 2024 SPARK Challenge, a design competition that clearly underestimated what these students were capable of.
Not only did they snag first place, they kept pushing boundaries until they crushed the previous Guinness World Record of 0.305 seconds, held by the meticulous minds at Mitsubishi Electric.
Now, you might be thinking…
Okay, but how the heck do you move a cube that fast without it just disintegrating into a spray of tiny colored tiles?
Excellent question because I got the same one, too. That’s where engineering gets a bit engineeringy.
Purdubik uses machine vision to recognize the cube’s colors, custom solving algorithms honed for pure execution speed, and industrial-grade motion control hardware to move at breakneck pace without shattering the cube into confetti. Each movement is precisely choreographed with sub-millisecond control—a ballet of motors, gears, and logic.
What makes this even cooler is the interactive twist.
The team built a Bluetooth-enabled “Smart Cube” that lets users scramble the puzzle in real-time. The robot mirrors each twist instantly and then, poof, it solves it. It’s less “watch me solve this” and more “try to keep up.”
Beyond the flashiness of shattering records, the bigger picture here is about what’s under the hood.
Systems like this aren’t all about cubes. They’re blueprints for ultra-fast coordinated robotic systems. The kind you might see in next-gen manufacturing lines or future medical tech. It’s a glimpse at what happens when you give bright students freedom, funding (shout-out to Purdue’s co-op program and a few generous sponsors), and a healthy dash of nerdy ambition.
Want to see even more fun?
This was basically a passion project. These students bonded over shared engineering dreams and old speedcubing videos from high school. It’s basically the Marvel origin story of cube-solving bots.
What really makes this story hit different is hearing from the students themselves.
For Matthew Patrohay, the speed wasn’t just a flex — it was a mission.
“We solve in 103 milliseconds. A human blink takes about 200 to 300 milliseconds. So, before you even realize it’s moving, we’ve solved it,” he explained.
That quote alone deserves to be printed on a T-shirt.
The origins of the project are as wholesome as they are geeky.
“Our team came together because of the co-op program,” said Aden Hurd.
“It helped us build not only the friendships that led to this collaboration, but also the professional and technical skills we needed to actually pull it off.”
They didn’t just stumble into this. These guys have been thinking about this for years.
Patrohay even confessed, “Back in high school, I saw a video of MIT students solving the cube in 380 milliseconds. I thought, ‘That’s a really cool project. I’d love to try and beat it someday.’ Now here I am at Purdue—proving we can go even faster.”
It’s not just about the world record either. There’s a real sense of academic fulfillment behind the scenes. “From our freshman year on, you build skills but this project showed how they all come together to create something meaningful,” Patrohay added.
The faculty? They’re just as jazzed.
“The Purdubik’s Cube team is a prime example of how Purdue is bringing algorithms, robotics, and control together to achieve great feats of engineering,” said Professor Shreyas Sundaram.
Assistant Professor Nak-seung Patrick Hyun got a bit philosophical, saying,
“This achievement 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.”
Milind Kulkarni, head of the Electrical and Computer Engineering School, beamed with pride:
“Take brilliant students, give them the tools and opportunities, and they’ll blow your mind. Four undergraduate ECE students, in less than a year, crushed a record set by a world-class team at Mitsubishi. I always say we have the best ECE students in the country — and this proves it. I couldn’t be more proud.”
Now let’s pause.
A Rubik’s Cube solved in 0.103 seconds.
Why?
Because they could.
Because humans are obsessed with doing pointless things faster than anyone else. I mean, we literally built a robot to solve a puzzle faster than we can register movement. I’m sorry to say this, but if that’s not the definition of unnecessary brilliance, I don’t know what is.
I get it, from both sides, it all makes perfect sense. For the students, it’s innovation, challenge, and bragging rights. For the average person, it’s like watching someone juggle chainsaws while riding a unicycle—completely unnecessary, but you can’t look away.
Still, what a strange world we live in.
We’re not solving housing crises in 0.103 seconds. We’re not fixing global warming or curing diseases with blink-speed robots. But by god, we’re solving plastic cubes faster than you can say, “Wait, what just happened?”
I think adults and real researchers with funding should keep building cool stuff, but maybe once in a while, aim it at actual problems. Just let the robots play with Rubik’s Cubes while we humans handle the rest.
Well, I write daily (mostly the weird stuff I find interesting). If you like this whole no-nonsense approach, feel free to bookmark and come back tomorrow, or continue reading other stories to make up your mind.
See ya, internet friend.
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