The inevitable rise of the machines is coming, and there’s little we can do to stop it. A cold, calculating efficiency, and the ability to solve problems and queries in nanoseconds means that machines will likely take our jobs before they become sentient. But before doomsday approaches and we look to John Connor to save the day, our friendly machines will be used to solve puzzles extremely quickly.
Jay Flatland and Paul Rose built a Rubik’s Cube-solving machine using a 3D printer that twists and turns the cube then simply solves it in about 1.19 seconds. That’s an unofficial world record, and about 490% faster than a puny human’s world record. Watching the robot do its thing is almost incomprehensible as it blurs to a finish, and you have to wonder if this is it – will the Rubik’s Cube ever be solved faster? Are we witnessing history here? Or does this machine have the ability to solve the cube even faster? Furthermore, Flatland and Rose have seemed to program the machine on the presumption that the cube is set on a specific square. Can it solve a jumbled and random cube? And can it solve three while underwater? Nah, you can’t be underwater, Mister I Need Electricity Machine!
Most importantly, will it evolve? Will it ever learn … To love?
(Via Mashable)