rubik

What's more fun? Playing with your Xbox, smart device, or Rubik's Cube, or playing with yourself? OK, we know that's a tough one for this crowd. How about the following: which is healthier?

Well, when it comes to testicular cancer, the answer is probably playing with yourself -- provided, of course, you're playing by the rules.… Read more

Think you're a Rubik's Cube master? Unless you are a robot, think again.

The Zonhoven Open 2012 is a Rubik's Cube competition held annually in Belgium. One insane aspect of the competition is a blindfolded Rubik's Cube challenge. After a few brief moments of examining the cube, participants must solve the 3D mechanical puzzle without looking. A moderator also holds a piece of paper over the cube to avoid peeking.

One would think this feat would take several minutes at best, but a record, caught on video, shows Marcell Endrey of Hungary solving the cube in an astonishing 28.80 seconds. Keep an eye out for the kid sitting behind Endrey, who flashes a priceless reaction. … Read more

If you've never seen a top-tier Rubik's Cube competition, you're missing out on watching something that can pretty much throw off your view on what people are capable of.

This weekend, the best in the world at the famous puzzle toy will go head to head in the World Rubik's Cube Championship in Bangkok, Thailand. And while you may not be able to get yourself there in person, you can watch the proceedings live. Events began today and take place through Sunday.

"Roughly 350 competitors from 40 countries will compete in 19 hard-fought events--from Speedcubing … Read more

Robots are quickly catching up to humans in rapidly solving Rubik's Cubes, with an Australian machine now completing the puzzle in just over 10 seconds.

Ruby, developed by students at Swinburne University of Technology, can solve a scrambled cube in 10.18 seconds including scan time, which the university says is the fastest speed in the world for a robot.

The students want to apply for a Guinness World Record, but other machines may challenge the claim. CubeStormer, a Lego-built speed solver, appears to solve a cube in 9.2 seconds in this video.

Another machine developed at UC Berkeley appears to solve the cube in 6 seconds in this video, but it's unclear if that includes the time needed to analyze the puzzle before solving it. … Read more

It's been a huge week for iOS gaming. Yesterday witnessed the arrival of a dazzling new Star Wars title, and today I've got quick takes on five more noteworthy new games--starting with a just-in-time movie tie-in.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4  A near-perfect replica of the outstanding console game, Lego Harry Potter (which I previewed last week) loses almost nothing in its transition to the small screen. (And for now, it's only for small screens: the game requires iOS 4.1 or later, which leaves iPads out.)

Alas, there's no option for cooperative play, and … Read more

Rubik's Cube is a little like Carrot Top. You're either into it or you stare, uncomprehending, as others express their enthusiasm.

Still, there are people all over the world who are desperate to discover all the different ways in which you can solve this infernal puzzle. These people are often called mathematicians.

So, according to AFP, an international group of these mathematicians begged some computer time from Google in order to unburden themselves of an issue that had, perhaps, disturbed their personal relationships for far too long.

Because these mathematicians worship the concept of efficiency (well, one of … Read more

Robots--even toy robots--are sometimes frighteningly adept at specific intelligence tasks. A new machine built out of toy parts is nearly as fast as the fastest human at solving Rubik's Cube puzzles.

CubeStormer is a cube-solving device built by British engineer Mike Dobson out of Lego Mindstorms parts hooked up to a computer.

Lego machines have also been programmed to solve sudoku puzzles, but the speed at which CubeStormer takes on a scrambled cube is pretty awesome.

As the video shows, Dobson's device solves a 3x3x3-inch cube in less than 12 seconds with a blinding display of automatic scanning … Read more

Lego Mindstorms are futuristic toys for creative kids. But who knew these DIY robots can get creative themselves and solve puzzles?

Swedish programmer Hans Andersson bought a programmable Mindstorms NXT kit for his two daughters and then began tinkering with it himself. The result: a toy that can autonomously solve Sudoku puzzles in what looks like a matter of minutes.

The Sudoku Solver scans the entire puzzle with a light sensor before determining the missing digits in each square. Its computer performs image processing with a thresholding algorithm to make sense of the sensor data. Recognizing the existing numbers in … Read more

Looking for an '80s pop culture phenomenon with a modern twist? Of course you are, otherwise Transformers could not have made more than $300 million in the U.S. alone. Think smaller though, as in cube-shaped and able to fit in your hand. Of course it's a Rubik's Cube silly!

Gizmodo is reporting on a Rubik's Cube, the TouchCube, that features a touch screen, and has an accelerometer and a button that makes it solve itself. It also can purportedly even teach you how to solve it step by step. The new cube is scheduled for a … Read more