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RuBot II Robot Solves Rubik's Cube With Gusto

RuBot II is an amazing robot that can easily solve the Rubik's cube puzzle game in a completely interactive (and talkative!) way.


(RuBot II robot solves Rubik's cube)

This is the second version of the RuBot, created by Pete Redmond, an avionics technician with the Irish Air Corps. The robot is able to accept a cube from a (mere) human. The 'bot then snags the cube and hoists it up to eye camera level, where its deft manipulators scan all sides of the cube.


(RuBot II robot video)

Rarely have I seen a robot that seems to enjoy his work as much as RuBot II.

Pete Redmond was kind enough to answer a couple of questions about RuBot II:

Did you read science fiction at an early age?

    [PR] Yes, I have always loved science fiction and science fact. I have read a lot of Scifi as a kid and adult (although as a kid it was mostly comics such as 2000ad). I also watched a lot of scifi tv as a kid (I don't watch much TV these days). My favourite books from my younger days (in no particular order) are: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Bill the Galactic Hero, Star Wars, 2000AD & Judge Dredd, Dune and the Discworld series. The latest addition to my favourite bookshelf is the Gap series by Stephen Donaldson. As a kid, my favourite TV would have been Star Trek, Doctor Who, Space 1999, Battlestar Galactica, Lost in Space, The Six million Dollar Man....
What were the specific influences from science fiction on RuBot (if any)?
    [PR] The build for RuBot was mostly functional so didn't allow for influence. It just does what it needs to do. The head is a gladiator helmet I found on ebay so again. The music is from the movie Short Circuit and the arms kind of move a little like Johnny Five. If the question was the other way around I would say RuBot is most like Johnny Five and That is why I chose to use that piece of music. I got the idea to use lights for the mouth from Doctor Who's Cybermen.
Update 12-Oct-2006: Take a look at an earlier Rubik's Cube-solving robot that appeared in a Caltech Rubik's Cube tournament; also, look at the most recent articles on Robotics here at Technovelgy.com.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/10/2006)

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