AI researchers test a robot's dexterity by handing it a Rubik's cube

Humans can manipulate Rubik's cubes with relative ease, but robots have historically had a tougher go of it. That's not to suggest there aren't exceptions to the rule -- an MIT invention recently solved a cube in a record-breaking 0.38 seconds -- but they typically involve purpose-built motors and controls. Encouragingly, a group of researchers at Tencent and the Chinese University of Hong Kong say they've designed a Rubik's cube manipulator that uses multi-fingered hands. "Dexterous in-hand manipulation is a key building block for robots to achieve human-level dexterity, and accomplish everyday tasks which involve rich contact," wrote the researchers. "Despite concerted progress, reliable multi-fingered dexterous hand manipulation has remained an open challenge, due to its complex contact patterns, high dimensional action space, and fragile mechanical structure."