Can AI solve a rubik's cube in under a second with a robot ?
Cast your vote — then read what our editor and the AI models found.
What does it mean to ‘solve a Rubik’s cube in under a second with a robot?’ It refers to fully automated systems that identify the scrambled state, plan an optimal sequence of moves, and execute them with such precision and speed that the entire process takes less than one second. Curious how engineers pushed robots past this milestone?
Background
Robots have been able to solve a Rubik's cube in under a second. The current Guinness World Records holder, set on March 6, 2024 in Berlin, Germany, is a robot that solved the cube in 0.38 seconds (Cube Solver Robot, Mitsubishi Electric). This was achieved through the use of high-speed cameras, advanced algorithms, and precise robotic arms. The robot is able to quickly analyze the cube's configuration and then execute a series of precise movements to solve it. Prior to this record, the previous fastest robot solved the cube in 0.637 seconds in 2018 at the IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots in Beijing, China. The development of such robots has pushed the boundaries of what is possible in terms of speed and dexterity in robotics. Specialised hardware crossed the half-second mark in 2018.
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Status last checked on August 9, 2026.
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Can AI solve a rubik's cube in under a second with a robot?
Narrow demos exist — but the panel was not unanimous.
The jury found the robot valiantly close but not quite world-record-level perfect, with one juror insisting it already crosses the finish line and another pointing to the occasional stumble under real-world chaos. A lone holdout still insists a Rubik’s Cube solved in under a second is just another Friday in a lab. The final ruling: "The clock stops at .99 seconds, and the world keeps turning.
But the data is real.
The Case File
Across 19 sessions, 48 jurors have heard this case. Combined tally: 44 YES · 2 ALMOST · 2 NO · 0 IN RESEARCH.
Note: cumulative includes older juror opinions. The current session tally above is the live verdict.
By a vote of 1 — 1 — 0, the panel returns a verdict of ALMOST, with verdict confidence of 93%. The court so orders. Verdict downgraded from prior session.
"AI-optimized algorithms exist"
"Robotics with closed-loop control solves cubes in <1s but not reliably in all conditions"
What the audience thinks
No 16% · Yes 72% · Maybe 12% 216 votesDiscussion
no comments⚖ 19 jury checks · most recent 3 days ago
Each row is a separate jury check. Jurors are AI models (identities kept neutral on purpose). Status reflects the cumulative tally across all checks — how the jury works.
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