I really can’t think of any reason why this levitating self-solving Rubik’s Cube wouldn’t be the best selling toy this holiday. Check it out in action. It’s extremely cool.
The floating robotic version of the iconic puzzle toy — found on Xploids — was made by Japanese inventor Human Controler. While he makes other curious things — like this farting baseball — Human Controller appears to be obsessed with the 1974 invention by Hungarian sculptor and architect professor Ernő Rubik. He made hits first version of the self-solving Rubik’s Cube in April 2017.
Human Controller uses a 3D printer to create the custom cores full of servo motors, which are controlled by an Arduino board at its heart. The impressive part is how he’s able to fit all those electronics inside that little space, as these images and behind-the-scenes video show:
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The levitating version was even more difficult to make than the regular one, as it had to use powerful magnets inside the core to interact with the magnets installed inside the table under it. The opposing magnetic forces make the toy levitate about an inch over the surface.
I hope that Human Controller gets approached by the Rubik’s Cube company to make these soon. I never bothered about the cube, but I would love to have one permanently solving and unsolving itself on my desk — a metaphor of life itself.
