The Solver

by Jordan Aronson, Alex Herriott, Oscar Arias

The robot being built combined with a complex algorithm will take a rubik’s cube, evaluate it, and solve the cube.

To build this, we need these things:

1. Build a robot which includes a Raspberry Pi along with motors that can rotate parts of the cube horizontally and vertically.
2. Create code to take the set of instructions and give them to the robot which will execute the necessary moves to solve the cube.
3. Create code to detect the colors on a cube on each of its sides
- Backlight the camera
4. Convert an algorithm to solve a cube into Python and produce a set of instructions based on its given colors
5. Connect the Raspberry Pi to the motors using circuitry

Challenges that we predict:

Designing grippers able to grasp and rotate the cube
Ensuring the grippers rotate exactly 90 degrees so the cube can rotate cleanly.
Trying to get the individual actions to take as little time as possible.
Designing a convenient way for the cube to be inserted into the device and exit the device.
Designing circuitry to connect the Pi (The Pi can’t deliver enough power or pins to drive all the necessary servos and steppers)
Finding a way to power both the Pi and the actuators from a wall adapter.

Designing an algorithm that can take the initial color positions and come up with a set of moves to solve the cube as efficiently as possible.
Making sure the camera can distinguish the color patterns on each side of the cube
Design code that can take that algorithm and translate it to what the robot can do. (The robot’s current design can only act on 4 faces at any given time. To access the other two, the cube must be rotated).

Budget

In our current design we have 4 end effectors on the cube that can rotate one side of the cube. These can therefore turn 4 sides of the cube from any position. The remaining two sides can be accessed by disengaging two of the grippers and rotating the entire cube to a new position.
The grippers that grip the cube will be operated by a mini servo mounted into the base of the gripper and then those grippers will be mounted to stepper motors. By using stepper motors, we are able to get continuous rotation on the grippers and accurate positioning.