engineering

RuBot II

RuBot II is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand RuBot II rather than just read about it. In short: RuBot II is a Rubik's Cube solving robot developed by Irish roboticist and inventor Pete Redmond. RuBot II is also known as RuBot II, the Cubinator.

Key takeaways

RuBot II belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect RuBot II to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of RuBot II from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

RuBot II is a Rubik's Cube solving robot developed by Irish roboticist and inventor Pete Redmond. RuBot II is also known as RuBot II, the Cubinator. RuBot II became the world's fastest Rubik's Cube-solving robot, and appeared as such in the Guinness Book of World Records. There are other Rubik's Cube robots too. Pete Redmond has stated that although the robot was built for entertainment, the science behind it can be practically useful. The technology that helps the RuBot to see can also be used in other robots in places where it might not be safe to send people, like disaster zones, where a robot can be sent in to see and make independent decisions. There are numerous YouTube videos of Rubot working on Rubik's Cubes, and its makers have given him some 'human' qualities, such as conversation to make these more entertaining. RuBot II, the Cubinator, won a Guinness World Record for solving the Rubik’s Cube in the fastest time for a robot.

Working RuBot II, the Cubinator can easily pick up and solve the Rubik's Cube puzzle game in an interactive way. In a typical run, the robot is given a Rubik's Cube scrambled by a human. It then takes the cube and hoists it up to eye camera level, where it scans and records the configurations on all faces of the cube. The input configurations read by RuBot's cameras are run through Kociemba’s 2 phase algorithm to find a solution with less than 20 moves, the computation normally taking less than one second, and then works with it using its pneumatic arms. It can solve any Rubik's Cube in less than 50 seconds, and has managed it in a record time of 21 seconds. RuBot II has been nicknamed "The Cubinator" and "RuBot II, the Cubinator".

Creator Pete Redmond is from Dublin, Ireland. He has worked as an avionics engineer for the Irish Air Corps. Pete has degrees in Computer Science, a master's degree in Engineering, and a Ph.D. from Trinity College. His other notable works include Diotoir and Nemesis from the BBC TV show Robot Wars, and RoboRiots.ie, and a combustion engine powered sprinting robot called Ulysses that set a world record on a BBC TV show called Technogames.

References

External links RuBot II home page

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with RuBot II

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what RuBot II claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to RuBot II before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about RuBot II ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of RuBot II

In research: RuBot II appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses RuBot II in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: RuBot II is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000s robots, Humanoid robots, Rubik's Cube, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for RuBot II outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study RuBot II in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what RuBot II means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain RuBot II out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is RuBot II in simple terms?

RuBot II is a Rubik's Cube solving robot developed by Irish roboticist and inventor Pete Redmond. RuBot II is also known as RuBot II, the Cubinator.

Why does RuBot II matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study RuBot II?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on RuBot II.