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Problem Statement

There have been over 450 million Rubik's Cubes sold worldwide. This iconic puzzle has captivated minds across the globe to such an extent that individuals compete on a global level to see who solves the Rubik's Cube the fastest.

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But, what if users could replace the classic colors with any image from their smartphones transposed onto the cube itself, adding spatial and cognitive complexity, and enabling global real-time competitions? Wouldn't reconstructing images instead of colors be the ultimate test of wit and skill?

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Our client, a consumer technology firm, had the grand vision to transform the complexity of the Rubik's Cube. We embarked on one of our hardest engineering challenges to design and build for our client, the 'Digital Cube X': an app-integrated digital version of the Rubik's Cube with 54 screens, allowing users to personalize it with images of their choice and then solve the puzzle with those images instead of only the classic colors.

Digital Cube X

Choose any gameplay mode from the app to begin the game.

Select up to 6 images to transpose to the cube and scramble.

Solve the cube by reconstructing the images back to its original state.

Design and Engineering

At the core of the system lies a 2400 mAh battery connected to microcontrollers. These microcontrollers supply power to a circular cage of static rails, where each rail is meticulously spaced apart very slightly to ensure no short circuit occurs. This circular cage of static rails serves as the foundation for the mechanism. 

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On top of this setup, there are 26 cube pieces, each designed with a metal ball located at its bottom corners. These metal balls rest and can slide on the static rails, facilitating the continuous flow of electricity. Throughout the user's experience of solving the cube by twisting its edges, the electrical connection between the static rail and the metal ball within each cube remains unbroken. 

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Within each of these cube pieces, the metal balls serve a dual purpose. They not only maintain the electrical connection but also power an embedded microcontroller, nestled inside every individual cube. These microcontrollers are responsible for driving the OLED screens mounted within each cube. They dictate precisely what images appear on these screens, providing independent control over the displayed content.

Product Specs

  • The Digital Cube X measures about 8 cm x 8 cm x 8 cm, roughly 2 cm larger than a traditional Rubik's Cube. 

  • The product was engineered to last up to 4 hours, which was deemed a reasonable gaming time before charging. 

  • The charging occurs via wireless charging as the product sits on a 3 point designed charging stand.

  • The weight of the Digital Cube X was kept reasonably low at only 200 grams, which is about the weight of 2 tomatoes.   

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