Shaler Area Elementary student builds robot that can solve Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cubes have puzzled people for decades but one Shaler Area Elementary School sixth-grader took a unique approach to solving the 3-D combination puzzle.
Ethan James, 11, created a robot that can solve a Rubik's Cube in less than two minutes.
He started the project last school year with a few other students in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program using the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robotics kit, but they couldn't get it to work right before summer break.
When Ethan returned to school this year and saw the unfinished robot, he set out to finally finish it. Using the plan from the previous year, Ethan just had to troubleshoot some issues and finish putting the robot together, he said. He finally got it working in November.
“I saw it sitting there and said ‘what the heck, why don't I try to make this work again,'” Ethan said. “Two months later, voila!”
The robot is programmed to scan each side of the Rubik's Cube to determine the colors, generate a solution, then use a robotic arm and rotating base to twist the cube and solve the puzzle.
Ethan said it averages about 25 moves to complete the puzzle, which takes about a minute and 30 seconds.
Mike Penn, Ethan's gifted and talented education teacher, said Ethan was the driving force in his group working on the project last year so it was no surprise that he wanted to tackle it again this school year.
“He doesn't get defeated by setbacks and is willing to work very hard for a very long time to accomplish a goal,” Penn said. “I love his attitude. It just doesn't occur to him that he can't do something. To him, everything is possible.”
Ethan said he has wanted to work with robots from a young age, but didn't get to until last school year in fifth grade. He competed with a school team in the FIRST LEGO League robotics competitions.
He now is working on a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to use with the elementary school's Dream Flight Adventures Simulator, Penn said.
He's also working on some projects at home.
Cara James, Ethan's mother, said he got an EV3 robotics kit for Christmas so he has started to design and build a robot that can write. Eventually, Ethan said he hopes to program the robot to write an entire Shakespearian manuscript.
“It's amazing what you can do with a laptop and a brick, or robotics brain,” Ethan said. “You plug it in, make a program and you can make a robot do anything. As a kid you learn how to do this stuff. Then when you grow up you can change the world.”
Rachel Farkas is a freelance writer for the Tribune-Review.
