Thursday, February 22, 2018

BrickPi: Raspberry Pi Rubiks Cube Solving Robot

BrickPi, a variant of  Raspberry Pi micro computer was mentioned by chief AWS evangelist Jeff Barr as a platform for running "cloud functions" on IoT edge devices.

AWS Greengrass – Run AWS Lambda Functions on Connected Devices | AWS News Blog

The same device could be used to build a "robot" that can solve Rubik's cube!

How To Build a Raspberry Pi Rubiks Cube Solving Robot - YouTube


BrickPi - Dexter Industries

BrickPi3 Starter Kit - Dexter Industries: $180 (LEGO parts no included)

or GoPiGo Beginner Starter Kit: the Raspberry Pi Robot Car: $200

Also available on Amazon.com: Dexter Industries

Dexter Industries is a company that designs robots for education, researchers, and hobbyists. The company makes several products that expand the LEGO Mindstorms system, Raspberry Pi, and Arduino prototyping system."


And here is the "smart part:"

Raspberry Pi cameras takes photos of each side of the cube.

Video suggest using this Python tool for solving the cube:
muodov/kociemba: A pure Python and pure C ports of Kociemba's algorithm for solving Rubik's cube @ GitHub

The tool is using this algorithm:
Solve Rubik's Cube with Cube Explorer

And here is a proof that Rubik's cube can be solved in 20 steps of less.
God's Number is 20 : "With about 35 CPU-years of idle computer time donated by Google, a team of researchers has essentially solved every position of the Rubik's Cube™, and shown that no position requires more than twenty moves."

Cube Animation comes from here:
twisty.js