I asked chatGPT:
I want to build a smart Rubik's cube with the following specs
- Each visible face of every edge piece - of which there are 20 (8 corner pieces, 12 middle-of-edge) will have an LED that can be lit up.
- Have internal battery that can be charged by a custom charger using a USB port.
- 400 mAh Li-Ion battery
- BLE to smartphone Smartphone app to visualize, implement timers, provide solutions, etc (optional for user to purchase, but part of development effort)
- Embedded computer to track every piece and, if user "requests", provide step-by-step guidance on solution by using LEDs to indicate next move.
Suggest a team size and talent breakdown to get this done in one year - prototyping, etc, ready to release to customers
It's fortunate that experienced and knowledgeable professional engineers have joined in this project. Thanks to their dedicated passion, JUNECUBE was developed faster.
- TED LEE: General manager of this project and June's dad.
- S.Y LEE: Software and application developer. He is developing Android and IOS applications.
- J. CHOI: Product planning and hardware developers. He was in charge of hardware development and is currently building a mass production system.
- I.H.KIM: Circuit design and development engineer. He has developed PCBs and sensors and is currently working on product certification.
- Y.J.BHAN : Mechanical design engineer. He designed and manufactured a prototype. He is complementing the product design for mass production.
- J.W. BAEK: Product designer. He was responsible for the design of JUNECUBE. And it is currently improving design of mass-production products.
What was the Oracle's answer?
That’s a great and ambitious project — essentially a full IoT + mechanical + embedded systems product. To go from concept to production-ready smart Rubik’s cube in one year, you’ll need a cross-disciplinary team that balances electronics, firmware, mechanical design, and mobile software. Here’s a practical breakdown based on similar consumer hardware timelines.
🧠 Core Team Size: ~10–12 people
1. Project Leadership (2)
-
Product Manager / Technical Lead (you, possibly)
Oversees scope, schedule, and design tradeoffs; bridges hardware–software teams. -
Industrial Designer / Mechanical Lead
Owns cube geometry, LED integration, durability, magnetic feel, manufacturability.
2. Electronics & Embedded Team (4)
| Role | Main Responsibilities | Key Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware Engineer (EE) | Design 6-axis PCB layout inside cube core, power regulation, BLE antenna tuning, battery management, LED drivers, sensors for orientation. | Altium/KiCad, rigid-flex PCB, power electronics |
| Firmware Engineer (MCU/BLE) | Embedded code for motion/orientation tracking, piece state computation, LED control, BLE communication. | C/C++, FreeRTOS, Nordic nRF52 or ESP32, BLE GATT |
| Sensor/Algorithm Engineer | Cube state reconstruction (sensor fusion, quaternion math), move detection. | Embedded math, IMU fusion, Kalman filters |
| Power & Charging Specialist (can overlap) | Custom charger design, USB-C PD or magnetic dock, Li-ion safety compliance. | Battery management, charge ICs, protection circuits |
3. Software & App Team (3–4)
| Role | Main Responsibilities | Key Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile App Developer (iOS) | Core app, BLE integration, visualization, timer, cube solver API. | Swift, CoreBluetooth, Unity optional |
| Mobile App Developer (Android) | Same as above. | Kotlin, Jetpack Compose |
| Backend / Cloud Developer (optional) | User accounts, firmware updates, analytics, optional online leaderboard. | Firebase, AWS IoT Core, Python |
| UI/UX Designer | Visualizes cube state, LED hints, tutorials, store integration. | Figma, Unity UI, Flutter design systems |
4. Prototyping & QA (2)
-
Mechanical Prototyping Engineer — 3D printing, magnet strength tuning, LED wire routing, durability testing.
-
QA / Test Engineer — Stress testing (drop, twist, battery, BLE), regulatory compliance (FCC/CE).
🕐 High-Level Timeline (~12 months)
| Phase | Duration | Key Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Concept & Architecture | 1–2 mo | CAD sketches, system block diagram, component selection |
| 2. Hardware + Firmware Prototype | 3 mo | Working cube with LEDs, battery, BLE prototype |
| 3. App Alpha + BLE Integration | 2 mo | Smartphone app communicates with cube |
| 4. Pre-production Iteration | 2–3 mo | Optimized PCB, final enclosure, production-ready firmware |
| 5. Beta Testing & Certification | 2 mo | FCC/CE, drop tests, user testing |
| 6. Manufacturing Prep & Launch | 1 mo | Vendor onboarding, Kickstarter or DTC release |
⚙️ Recommended Core Hardware Stack
-
MCU: Nordic nRF52840 (BLE + enough GPIO for LEDs, IMU)
-
IMU: 9-axis (e.g., MPU-9250)
-
LEDs: WS2812B-mini or APA102C-mini (addressable)
-
Battery: 400 mAh Li-ion with BMS (TP4056 or MAX1555)
-
Charging Dock: Magnetic pogo or USB-C cradle
-
Firmware: FreeRTOS + BLE GATT + LED animation engine
-
App Framework: Flutter (cross-platform) or Unity for 3D visualization
💰 Rough Cost (for 1 year, small startup model)
| Role/Item | Cost Estimate |
|---|---|
| Core engineers (8–10 FTEs) | ~$800 k–$1.2 M |
| Prototyping, tooling, components | ~$100 k |
| Certifications, cloud infra, app store | ~$50 k |
| Total (1-year pre-launch) | ≈ $1.2–1.4 M |
And what did the Koreans actually pull off?
Impressive? (Forget the typos :)
I'm giving them credit. Sure, a lot of things could be improved - just the user interface alone. "Put it yellow center edge down and wait" Really? Also, the blinking lights are pretty lame - they could have easily done something much nicer. Gangnam style would be cool. But, they got it done!
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