SO-ARM101 follower arm in white and leader arm in black, both in 3D-printed PLA

Robot arms

LeRobot SO-ARM101

A leader-follower robot arm kit for imitation learning and VLA models with Hugging Face LeRobot.

Suggested for university

SO-ARM101 is an open-source leader-follower robot arm kit that gives students and researchers a hands-on start in imitation learning and VLA (vision-language-action) models. Moving the leader arm by hand drives the follower arm, which records demonstrations for training; the trained policy then runs on the follower by itself. It works with Hugging Face LeRobot, an open-source Python library and model-sharing platform with datasets and pretrained models. Hiwonder built it on the original open-source design with 12V servos, to avoid underpowered joints and jerky movement. The DIY Kit is unassembled and leaves the 3D-printed parts to the buyer; the Starter, Standard and Advanced kits arrive assembled, and the Standard and Advanced kits add cameras.

Zeta42 is an authorised Hiwonder partner in the Middle East.

Configurations

Choose how it ships.

Model: DIY Kit / Unassembled · Starter Kit / Assembled · Standard Kit / Assembled · Advanced Kit / Assembled

What it does

Built for.

Leader-follower teleoperation
The leader arm is moved by hand and the follower copies it. Each session collects data for end-to-end imitation learning, from demonstration to training to the follower carrying out the learned task.
Hugging Face LeRobot
LeRobot provides tools, datasets and pretrained models for imitation learning and reinforcement learning, in a Python library that runs on Windows or Ubuntu. The whole project is open source, from mechanical design to code, pretrained models and algorithm libraries.
Servos for each arm
The follower arm uses six HX-30HM bus servos and the leader arm six HX-10HM, all on 12V, connected to a computer through BusLinker servo boards over USB.
Cameras for hand-eye coordination
The Standard and Advanced kits add a 300K-pixel camera on the gripper for a first-person view. The Advanced Kit also adds a 2MP camera on a mount that sees the whole scene, so data is collected from both views.
DIY or assembled
The DIY Kit has the servos, boards, power supplies and hardware but no 3D-printed parts: students print them from the 3D files in the tutorials and assemble the arms. The other kits arrive assembled, with PLA parts.

Where it is used

Applications.

University teaching and research in imitation learning and VLA models
Collecting demonstration datasets and training robot policies
Advanced AI programming courses
Robotics competitions and prototyping

Videos

See it run.

Specifications

The full sheet.

Material: PLA (polylactic acid)
Leader arm: 111 × 239 × 525 mm, 697g
Follower arm: 111 × 173 × 532 mm, 704g
Camera mount (Advanced Kit): 166 × 258 × 527 mm, 1178g
Servos: Leader arm: HX-10HM bus servo × 6; follower arm: HX-30HM bus servo × 6
Controller: BusLinker V3.0 servo debugging board
Cameras: 300K pixel HD wide-angle camera, 480P (Standard and Advanced Kit); 2MP HD wide-angle camera, 1080P (Advanced Kit)
Power supply: 12V 5A (DC 4.0 × 1.7)
Operating system: Windows / Ubuntu
Communication method: USB serial port
Programming tools: Python
Package weight: DIY Kit: 5.23kg; Starter Kit: 4.33kg; Standard Kit: 4.38kg; Advanced Kit: 5.6kg
Package size: 512 × 240 × 225 mm (all kits)