Win Friends And Influence People With This Rubik’s Cube-Solving Program

Win Friends And Influence People With This Rubik’s Cube-Solving Program

Do you remember that Will Smith movie where he got the big high-powered Wall Street job by solving a Rubik’s Cube in front of the company’s CEO? With a little deception, that could be you, by using this Rubik’s Cube-solving application.

Cubr is a project that Carnegie Mellon student Chris Barker put together for his introductory computer science class. The concept is simple — you take a picture of each side of your mixed up Rubik’s Cube using a webcam, then follow the guided steps to solving it. The online version of Cubr isn’t complete; the camera functionality isn’t there yet. But you can download the working app from GitHub.

You can read Barker’s detailed breakdown of his process here. He explains that he used David Singmaster’s three-layer solution method within the algorithm and gives a little breakdown of programming for the inaccurate colours of a webcam.

OK, the feasibility of impressing a potential employer with this tool seems low. You’d have to have them on a video conference with a separate off-camera screen guiding you. That would all be quite suspicious. But this application is really the best way to actually learn the three-layer solution that I can think of. So, at the very least, you’ll have an impressive skill for life.

[Chris Barker]


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