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The smart Hungarian cube - which was almost too smart for me - voila! technology

2023-02-16T20:35:49.561Z


We let an adult frustrated by years of failure to solve a Hungarian cube experience the Gocube cube and app, along with a 10-year-old eager to learn. how did it end


Carmi Zilberstein solves the GoCube - an interactive Hungarian cube (Yron Zilberstein)

The Hungarian cube is one of the most addictive and successful games in the world that has become a cultural phenomenon since its invention in the 70's and it shows no signs of fading.

But for me this is a nightmare that has been with me for years.

All my friends managed to solve it and only I didn't.

Even now when I have children and they come to me to study - I have to send them to learn on YouTube how to deal with the assignment.

Fortunately, technology and the smart cube arrived.



That's why I was really happy when I received the GoCube, sold on the iDigital network, the interactive Hungarian cube that took my problem and provided a solution straight from the 21st century by combining the cube with electronics, advanced technology and of course an app.

The cube comes in a package that is actually two parts - the cube itself and the software, and all this is joined by the title "Best Toy and Gadget of 2019" given to it by the Wall Street Journal.

GoCube - interactive Hungarian cube (photo: idigital)

But first of all: unboxing and settings - and I mention this mainly because it is an amazing process that was created for the Instagram generation.

The box opens diagonally to reveal the cube in full citrus.

The one accessory it comes with is a tiny USB charging dock (which doubles as a phone stand - which is handy because you really need your phone on a stand to use the app while operating the cube with two hands).

The cube has a cool internal light that shines while charging and you can also turn it on while playing with the cube - although it does not allow playing in the dark.

After the cube is loaded, it is ready to connect to the application - and this is a very simple process.

Every time you launch the app, it looks for a nearby GoCube and then asks if you want to connect to it.

This means that multiple friends or family members can all download the free app and start using the cube without complications.



The cube itself is beautiful, although according to the review published in Forbes magazine - people with knowledge of all the cubes available today will recognize the design.

Instead of a perfectly square cube, you actually get a cube that looks like someone inflated it a little too much and it still managed to stay intact.

This means that the edges are less defined, the corners are a little harder to find, and you'll have to grip it a little harder on the sides to turn a side - today's advanced dice stick to the fingers on the defined edges to gain a little more speed, something that is not possible here.

Despite this, they make it clear that the cube has a lot of positive actions, such as that after each movement the sides snap into place with a sufficient click, which both gives excellent feedback to the sense of touch and ensures that the cube will send its locational data back to the app.



Yes.

This is where the software comes into play.

The GoCube actually sends a digital display of all six sides of the cube to your smartphone, as well as data identifying its orientation in space.

Basically you get a virtual cube on the screen that mimics the shape and rotation of the cube in 3D.



After the cube is loaded, it is ready to connect to the application - and this is a very simple process.

Every time you launch the app, it looks for a nearby GoCube and then asks if you want to connect to it.

This means that multiple friends or family members can all download the free app and start using the cube without complications.

There is something to strive for

The record was broken again: a robot solved a Hungarian cube in less than one second

To the full article

The app actually tracks the state of the cube in real time as you rotate or try to solve it - you can actually see the virtual cube moving in real time on the screen as you rotate the real thing by hand.

This means that when you're learning, the app can instantly tell if you've made a wrong move and correct you.

Of course, as a clueless and traumatized person, I turned to the study area where lessons are shown that teach some terms and some simple algorithms, then how to solve the cube step by step. Our experimenters were a 10-year-old boy who managed to partially teach himself how to solve cubes with YouTube videos and advice from friends and a 49-year-old man who was reprimanded In the 1980s for peeling and rearranging the stickers the first night after getting his own cube and never having recovered enough to try and learn since.



We both approached the task with trepidation but we learned quickly and even enjoyed the process a lot.

The lessons are displayed on a small video game-style map and are divided into such small chapters that they never require too much time or thought.

You watch a short video and then you go through each step you learned and the app alerts you if you make a wrong step.



Each stage of learning is short and easy to remember, but only when you reach the last stage it becomes difficult and requires several attempts to learn.

I also had to go back to lessons that I probably put off, but the satisfaction in learning to solve the cube is enormous.

The 10-year-old has been trying for a while to learn to solve something beyond just one side of the cube and with the app he did it with fun and received immediate feedback on incorrect moves, which is probably exactly what he needed to learn independently.

Carmi Zilberstein solves the GoCube - an interactive Hungarian cube (photo: courtesy of the photographers, Yaron Zilberstein)

But then she got out of sync

But (and this is a pretty big but) too often the app lost sync and couldn't figure out which way the cube was held - and it caused a lot of frustration for both of us.

In fact, at some point we gave up and decided that we were not meant to learn to solve a cube.

Only after a visit from a friend of the boy who knew the app (and said that thanks to it he learned to solve a Hungarian cube himself) did we understand what had to be done to get it back in sync and it turns out that it's quite simple: you just have to hold it at the right (and very specific) angle upwards and then press a button.

So yes, occasionally the app gets confused and loses track of the cube state and displays the colors in the wrong places.

In that case there are two options - if you know how to solve the cube, just do it and then sync it.

Alternatively, you can take a few minutes to tap each side's colors in the app and sync it manually.



Even after you've finished the learning process, GoCube is still useful for regular play and has a lot more to offer because the app also lets you tackle challenges - for example the app can order you to scavenge the cube into a certain arrangement and then time your progress until you reach a solution.

In addition, you can compete against other cube enthusiasts (just note that these are experts who are able to solve it in 5 seconds, that way you will build on world fame).



The app also has some built-in games that add small challenges and help you get to know the moves and colors (but there are few explanations on how to play and you have to figure it out yourself).



Despite the frustration of getting out of sync, overall it can be said that GoCube is an excellent product and very suitable for children who live in the world of online apps and games.

Although it is of course more expensive than a regular cube (about NIS 300 at iDigital), it is very good for those who want to learn how to solve a Hungarian cube once and for all (although unfortunately - from testing it appears that its stickers do not peel off and cannot be rearranged manually).

  • technology

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Source: walla

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