Review

Overview of Rubik's Cube and Refections on Its Application in Mechanism

  • Da-Xing Zeng ,
  • Ming Li ,
  • Juan-Juan Wang ,
  • Yu-Lei Hou ,
  • Wen-Juan Lu ,
  • Zhen Huang
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  • School of Mechanical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China

Received date: 2017-08-24

  Online published: 2019-07-23

Supported by

Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51775473), Hebei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. E2018203140), Hebei Provincial System Construction Project of Guide Program for Technology Innovation (Grant No. 18241905D)

Abstract

Rubik's Cube is a widely popular mechanical puzzle that has attracted attention around the world because of its unique characteristics. As a classic brain-training toy well known to the public, Rubik's Cube was used for scientifc research and technology development by many scholars. This paper provides a basic understanding of the Rubik's Cube and shows its mechanical art from the aspects of origin and development, characteristics, research status and especially its mechanical engineering design, as well as making a vision for the application in mechanism. First, the invention and origin of Rubik's Cube are presented, and then the special characteristics of the cube itself are analyzed. After that, the present researches of Rubik's Cube are reviewed in various disciplines at home and abroad, including the researches of Rubik's Cube scientifc metaphors, reduction algorithms, characteristic applications, and mechanism issues. Finally, the applications and prospects of Rubik's Cube in the feld of mechanism are discussed.

Cite this article

Da-Xing Zeng , Ming Li , Juan-Juan Wang , Yu-Lei Hou , Wen-Juan Lu , Zhen Huang . Overview of Rubik's Cube and Refections on Its Application in Mechanism[J]. Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2018 , 31(4) : 77 -77 . DOI: 10.1186/s10033-018-0269-7

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