New Zealand Students Build Robot That Solves a 4x4 Cube in Just 9.806 Seconds
Four engineering students from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand have built a robot capable of solving a 4x4 Rubik's Cube in an astonishing 9.806 seconds, smashing the previous robotic World Record of 45.30 seconds.
The achievement took place on Friday 16 October 2026, when the students made their official Guinness World Record attempt.
The result is currently awaiting verification from Guinness World Records, but if approved, it will represent an improvement of more than 35 seconds over the previous record.
Perhaps even more impressively, their robot has become fast enough to beat the human 4x4 World Record single of 15.18 seconds, held by Tymon Kolasiński.
From 45 Seconds to Under 10
The previous Guinness World Record for the fastest robot to solve a 4x4 cube was 45.30 seconds, set by British brothers Matthew and Thomas Pidden in Bristol on 12 May 2025.
That was already an impressive engineering achievement, but it left a significant gap between robotic and human solving speeds.
The four New Zealand students saw this as an opportunity.
After watching a video of the previous record-holding robot, they realised that a considerably faster machine should be possible.
The team consisted of four final-year Mechatronics Engineering students:
-
Caleb Everitt – Mechanical design
-
Johann Torres – Electrical engineering and motor control
-
Hayden Watson – Computer vision
-
Maz Cameron – Software development
Together, they turned their final-year university project into an attempt to build the fastest 4x4-solving robot ever made.
Their eventual result of 9.806 seconds is approximately 4.6 times faster than the previous record.
How Does the Robot Solve a 4x4?
The robot uses four cameras to examine the scrambled cube and identify the colours of its pieces.
This information is passed to software using an open-source solving algorithm, which calculates the moves required to solve the puzzle.
The robot then executes those moves using a system of high-speed motors.
One of the biggest differences between this robot and the previous record holder is its ability to manipulate the cube along all three axes.
The previous record-holding robot could only perform rotations along two axes, meaning it sometimes needed to physically reorient the cube before executing certain moves.
The Canterbury students designed their robot to avoid this limitation, reducing unnecessary movements and allowing the puzzle to be solved much more efficiently.
They also used high-speed motors commonly found in drones, combined with specialised motor controllers.
Another interesting innovation was the use of suction cups.
Initially, the students found that relying on gravity to return the cube to its resting position was too slow. By introducing suction cups, they could move the cube more quickly and precisely, saving valuable time.
The Challenges of Building a Record-Breaking Robot
Building a robot capable of solving a 4x4 in under 10 seconds is considerably more complicated than simply attaching motors to a cube.
The team encountered several significant challenges during development.
One was ensuring that the cameras could correctly distinguish between the different cube colours under varying lighting conditions.
Another was preventing the cube from jamming while turning at extremely high speeds.
At the speeds required to break the record, even a slight misalignment could potentially cause a failed solve.
The students worked to improve the structural rigidity of the robot, refine its software and optimise the movement of the cube.
Remarkably, the entire project was completed on a limited budget provided by the university's Mechanical Engineering Department.
Faster Than the Human 4x4 World Record
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this achievement for speedcubers is that the robot is now significantly faster than any human has officially solved a 4x4.
The current human World Record single stands at 15.18 seconds, set by Tymon Kolasiński at the Spanish Championship 2025.
The Canterbury robot's 9.806-second solve is 5.374 seconds faster, making it approximately 35% quicker than the human record.
| Record | Time |
|---|---|
| Previous robotic Guinness World Record | 45.30 |
| Human WCA World Record single | 15.18 |
| University of Canterbury robot attempt | 9.806 |
Of course, robotic solving and human speedcubing are very different challenges.
Human competitors must inspect the puzzle, plan their solution and physically execute the moves themselves. A robot can use cameras, computer algorithms and motors to perform these tasks.
Nevertheless, it is a significant milestone that a robot can now solve a 4x4 considerably faster than the world's best human speedcubers.
An Extraordinary Engineering Achievement
The project was completed as part of the students' final year at the University of Canterbury, combining the knowledge they had gained throughout their four-year engineering degrees.
The robot will remain at the university, where the students hope it will inspire future generations of engineers.
All four members of the team have already secured graduate engineering positions in New Zealand for 2027.
For the speedcubing community, the achievement demonstrates how rapidly robotic puzzle-solving technology is improving.
Going from a robotic record of 45.30 seconds to just 9.806 seconds in little over a year is an enormous leap.
And with the machine now comfortably faster than the human World Record, it raises an interesting question: how much faster could a 4x4-solving robot eventually become?
For now, the University of Canterbury students have set a remarkable new benchmark, with their 9.806-second solve awaiting official Guinness World Records confirmation.
