Working notes for Open-Source Humanoid Robotics Landscape (Oct 2026), compiled Oct 2, 2026. Not fact-checked line by line: where these notes and the report disagree, trust the report. See README.md.

Slice report: open humanoid platforms, closed-hardware humanoids with open software, and open actuators (status as of 2026-10-02)

0. Method notes and limitations

• Tools used. WebSearch, which returns titles and URLs only. WebFetch. The GitHits code/package index, an MCP tool, which I used to read repository files and to get PyPI-linked GitHub stats.
• WebSearch ran out. The session-wide limit (200 calls, shared across agents) was used up partway through. After that, discovery relied on fetching known URLs and on GitHits.
• WebFetch was throttled.
  • The proxy returned HTTP 429 (rate limited) repeatedly early on.
  • Later the shared limit (800 fetches per hour across all agents) ran out twice.
  • Pages I could not read:
    • humanoidsdaily.com, "K-Scale Labs cancels K-Bot orders…" (429)
    • toddlerbot.github.io (429)
    • techcrunch.com Microduck article, 2026-08-27 (429)
    • seeedstudio.com Reachy Mini blog, 2026-01-06 (429)
    • humanoidsdata.com/articles/open-source-humanoid-robots (429)
    • github.com/HybridRobotics/Berkeley-Humanoid-Lite (429), so the BHL star count is missing
    • arxiv.org/abs/2504.17249 (429)
    • arxiv.org/html/2502.00893v2 (429)
    • cnbc.com Microduck article (site returned 403)
    • theresarobotforthat.com Tien Kung article (robots.txt timeout)
    • github.com/unitreerobotics/unifolm-wla (404)
    • hello-robot.com/stretch-3-product (404)
    • github.com/icub-tech-iit/ergocub-software (fetch limit reached)
    • fftai.com/open-source/18 (JavaScript-only page, no content)
• Retries. The proxy said not to retry 429'd pages. I broke that once: I re-requested github.com/unitreerobotics/unitree_rl_gym about 30 minutes after its 429. It loaded, and its star count matches the Unitree org page. I also retried Arduino-FOC once, a minute after a "limit reached" error (not a 429).
• GitHits used after failed fetches. For BHL, unitree_rl_gym and ergocub-software I read the repo files through the GitHits index after the GitHub page failed. I treated that as an "other source"; you may judge otherwise.
• How to read the labels:
  • "GH" means a star count read from the GitHub page today.
  • "GitHits" means a star count from the GitHits package index, refreshed today.
  • "(self-reported)" means a vendor or project claim.
  • "(secondary)" means a third-party article or aggregator.
  • "(recalled)" means my own background knowledge, not re-verified today.
  • "(unverified)" means I could not confirm it.

1. Key takeaways

1. Unitree's closed robots running Unitree's open software are the de facto research humanoid.
   • Unitree says it shipped more than 5,500 humanoids in 2025 (self-reported, January 2026). Most 2025 sales went to education and research customers (secondary, TechTimes).
   • The G1 now starts at US$13.5k and the R1 Air at $4.9k.
   • Unitree listed on Shanghai's STAR Market on 2026-08-21 and closed day one at about a $50.9B valuation.
2. Building an open humanoid as a company is still a bad business.
   • K-Scale Labs shut down in November 2025 (its K-Bot cost $8,999), refunded pre-orders and released its IP.
   • Hugging Face's $3k HopeJR was due "by end of 2025". I found no evidence it shipped; R&D files were still being uploaded on 2026-04-30.
3. Most activity in 2025–26 is in mid-size, 3D-printed or kit humanoids from labs and Chinese startups:
   • Berkeley Humanoid Lite: under $5k.
   • ToddlerBot 2.0: under $6k.
   • Roboto Origin: bill of materials (BOM) about ¥49.7k, roughly $7k.
   • Asimov v1: about $15k kit target.
   • LeRobot Humanoid legs: about $2.6k.
4. Hugging Face's robotics output with real volume is small and expressive, not full humanoids.
   • Reachy Mini: more than 10k units shipped (secondary, August 2026).
   • Microduck ($399): headlines report more than 10k units sold within days.
   • Microduck's software is Apache-2.0, but its hardware design files are not open.
5. Licences are a minefield. Non-commercial or unclear terms apply to:
   • ToddlerBot's design files (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
   • Reachy Mini's hardware files (CC BY-NC-SA).
   • K-Bot: the README and LICENSE file contradict each other.
   • OpenLoong: Solderpad licence, but a "research-only" disclaimer.
   • AgiBot X1: no licence file in the training repo.
6. Simulation models for open humanoids are spotty. MuJoCo Menagerie and robot_descriptions cover Unitree, Booster T1, Fourier N1, ToddlerBot, OP3, iCub/ergoCub and Upkie. They do not cover Berkeley Humanoid Lite, K-Bot/Z-Bot, Asimov, Roboto, OpenLoong, Tiangong, AgiBot X1, Reachy 2/Mini, HopeJR or the Duck robots.
7. Getting simulation-trained policies to work on cheap hardware is the recurring pain. Every low-cost project ends up building its own system-identification or domain-randomization pipeline:
   • ToddlerBot built a motor test bed.
   • LeRobot Humanoid has a whole repo for fitting simulator parameters with CMA-ES (an optimization method).
   • Microduck randomizes backlash and voltage sag.
   • Asimov's locomotion policy is still "pending".
8. Toolchains are fragmented.
   • Isaac Gym (legacy) still underpins unitree_rl_gym, booster_gym and agibot_x1_train.
   • Isaac Lab versions are pinned inconsistently across projects.
   • MuJoCo-Warp / mjlab is rising.
   • Webots, Unity and Gazebo/YARP each appear in one ecosystem.
9. Open actuators remain niche. Most open humanoids use closed Chinese quasi-direct-drive (QDD) motors (Damiao, Robstride, Encos) or hobby/Dynamixel servos.
   • ODrive's current-generation firmware is closed (available under NDA).
   • moteus (Apache-2.0) is the main fully open high-performance controller.

2. Closed hardware with substantial open software

Unitree G1 / H1 / H2 / R1: the de facto research humanoid

• Status: ACTIVE.
  • xr_teleoperate v1.6 released 2026-07-29.
  • unitree_sdk2, unitree_ros and unitree_mujoco updated August 2026 (org page).
  • UnifoLM-VLA-0 weights released 2026-01-29.
  • UnifoLM-X2-1.0 demo on 2026-09-07; not open.
• Who: Unitree Robotics, Hangzhou; founder and CEO Wang Xingxing (recalled).
  • IPO on 2026-08-21, Shanghai STAR Market, ticker 688836. Raised ¥6.1B. Closed day one at ¥845, up 460%, about ¥342B (~$50.9B).
  • 2025 revenue ¥1.70B (+335%); net profit ¥278M; overseas 43.65% of revenue, US about 13% (secondary, TechTimes).
• Links: github.com/unitreerobotics (6.8k followers, 54 repos); unitree.com/g1.
• GitHub stats (fetched today, GH):

• License: Hardware and firmware closed. Software is BSD-3 or Apache-2.0, as above.
• What it is:
  • G1 (unitree.com, today):
    • Body: 1.32 m tall, about 35 kg, 23 degrees of freedom (DoF). The EDU version has 23–43 DoF.
    • Knee torque: 90 N·m (EDU 120 N·m).
    • Power: 9 Ah, 13-cell battery, "about 2 h" runtime.
    • Compute: 8-core CPU; EDU can add an NVIDIA Orin.
    • Sensors: depth camera plus 3D LiDAR.
    • Optional Dex3-1 hand (7 DoF).
    • Price: from $13.5k; EDU on request. It launched in May 2024 at $16k (The Robot Report headline).
  • R1: 1.23 m, 27–29 kg, 20 DoF (Air) or 26 DoF (R1/EDU), about 1 h runtime. $4,900 (Air) or $5,900 (R1).
  • H2: 1.82 m, about 70 kg, 31 DoF; legs 360 N·m, arms 120 N·m; 0.972 kWh battery, about 3 h. $29,900.
• Software stack:
  • SDK2 (DDS-based) and ROS 1/2.
  • MuJoCo simulator covering Go2, B2, H1, G1, H2 and AS2.
  • RL in Isaac Gym (unitree_rl_gym: train, then play, then MuJoCo sim2sim, then real robot; G1/H1/H1_2/Go2; C++ G1 deploy).
  • RL in Isaac Lab (unitree_rl_lab: Isaac Lab 2.3.0 / Isaac Sim 5.1.0; Go2/H1/G1-29dof).
  • XR teleoperation (Apple Vision Pro, PICO 4 Ultra Enterprise, Quest 3; G1/H1/H2/R1; Dex1/Dex3/Inspire/BrainCo hands).
  • LeRobot fork for G1 imitation learning (ACT, Diffusion, Pi0, Pi0.5, GR00T policies).
  • World-model / VLA releases:
    • UnifoLM-WMA-0: weights 2025-09-15, deployment code 2025-09-22. Trained on Z1/G1 datasets plus Open-X.
    • UnifoLM-VLA-0: 2026-01-29. Trained on 12 open datasets, mostly G1.
• Simulation models: URDF (unitree_ros), MJCF (Menagerie; unitree_mujoco). USD via the Isaac Lab tasks.
• Adoption: More than 5,500 humanoids delivered in 2025; more than 6,500 produced (self-reported, 2026-01-29). The majority went to education and research (secondary).
• Benchmarks:
  • UnifoLM-VLA claims "12 categories of complex manipulation tasks… single policy" (self-reported; no LIBERO numbers in the README summary).
  • UnifoLM-X2-1.0: "no paper, no benchmark numbers, no inference latency figure" (AlphaSignal).
• Trade-offs:
  • For: the best price-to-performance, a large research community, official RL, teleoperation and imitation-learning stacks, and Menagerie models. It is the default target for a data or simulation vendor.
  • Against: closed actuators and firmware, so you cannot modify or repair joints at component level.
  • Against (recalled, not re-verified): low-level control reportedly requires EDU units; the "UniPwn" BLE vulnerability was disclosed in September 2025.
• Sources:
  • github.com/unitreerobotics
  • …/unitree_rl_gym, …/unitree_rl_lab, …/xr_teleoperate, …/unitree_sdk2, …/unitree_sdk2/releases, …/unitree_mujoco, …/unitree_IL_lerobot
  • …/unifolm-world-model-action, …/unifolm-vla
  • unitree.com/g1, /R1, /H2
  • prnewswire.com (Unitree 5,500 units)
  • techtimes.com/articles/325193 (IPO)
  • alphasignal.ai (UnifoLM-X2)
  • xr_teleoperate CHANGELOG (GitHits)

Booster Robotics T1 / K1 / T2

• Status: ACTIVE. booster_gym now points to new repos: booster_train (Isaac Lab), booster_deploy and booster_assets, with K1 support.
• Who: Booster Robotics, Beijing.
• Links: github.com/BoosterRobotics/booster_gym.
• GitHub stats (GH): booster_gym 304 stars, 54 forks.
• License: Software Apache-2.0 (LICENSE © 2024 Booster). Hardware closed.
• What it is (physicalailab.io, 2026-08-07, secondary):
  • K1: about 95 cm, 19.5 kg, 22 DoF, 60 N·m peak; compute 48/117/200 TOPS by version; about 30 min walking at 0.4 m/s (2 Ah) or about 80 min (5 Ah); from US$5,999.
  • T1: 118 cm, about 30 kg, 23 / 31 / 41 DoF; 130 N·m; AGX Orin (200 TOPS); about 2 h walking.
  • T2: about 140 cm, 42–43 kg, 31 DoF, Thor T5000. T1 and T2 prices are quote-only.
• Software and simulation: Isaac Gym training, MuJoCo cross-simulation, Webots deployment check (booster_gym). URDF and MJCF of T1 are in Menagerie and robot_descriptions (Apache-2.0).
• Adoption / benchmarks: T1 was the RoboCup 2025 AdultSize champion platform and K1 the KidSize champion platform (secondary).
• Trade-offs: The strongest closed-hardware alternative to Unitree for soccer and kid-size research. The ecosystem is much smaller (304 stars versus 3.5k).
• Sources: github.com/BoosterRobotics/booster_gym (GH and GitHits); physicalailab.io/en/booster-k1-vs-t1-vs-t2/.

Fourier (GR-1/GR-2/GR-3 software; N1 is covered in section 3)

• Status: ACTIVE (software). fourier-grx-M4 updated 2026-08-12; fourier_aurora_sdk 2026-05-08.
• GitHub stats (GH, org page):

• GR-1 URDF is GPL-3.0 (robot_descriptions).
• Trade-off: The open software is thin relative to Unitree.
• Sources: github.com/FFTAI; robot_descriptions README (GitHits).

Other closed hardware with open software (brief)

• AgiBot (X2, A-series): genie_sim 1.4k stars (updated 2026-09-07); Genie-Envisioner-V1 581; ACoT-VLA 247; X2/A3 URDF/USD repos. The X2 is SDK-only (AimDK_X2), not open hardware (secondary).
• Galaxea (R1 / R1 Pro): GalaxeaVLA 683 stars, GalaxeaDP 41, GalaxeaManipSim 37 (Apache-2.0 on some). R1 Pro URDF has 22 DoF (Apache-2.0).
• EngineAI: engineai_legged_gym 521 stars, engineai_humanoid 170, engineai_rl_lab 47 (PM01, T800).
• HighTorque: Mini-Pi-Plus_BeyondMimic 183 stars, Mini_Pi_RL_Baseline 89. CAD and BOM are open only for the Panthera-HT arm (MIT, 212 stars).
• LimX: Oli, Luna and TRON1/2 descriptions under Apache-2.0.
• PNDbotics: Adam Lite MJCF (MIT, Menagerie).
• I found no open humanoid hardware from any of these companies.
• Sources: github.com/AgibotTech, /OpenGalaxea, /engineai-robotics, /HighTorque-Robotics; robot_descriptions README.

Closed comparators (price and capability reference only)

• 1X NEO (1x.tech, today):
  • 5'6", 66 lb; hands 22 DoF each, arms 7 DoF each, legs 6 DoF each.
  • 842 Wh battery, 4 h runtime, 22 dB.
  • $200 deposit. Price not on page; widely reported in October 2025 as $20k or $499/month (recalled).
  • Uses remote "Expert Mode" teleoperation.
• Figure 03 (October 2025), Tesla Optimus, Agility Digit, Apptronik Apollo: no public list prices verified today (recalled). Apollo's MJCF is in Menagerie (Apache-2.0).

3. Open-hardware humanoids

Berkeley Humanoid Lite (BHL): sub-$5k, 3D-printed, research-grade kid-size humanoid

• Status: SLOWING (by verifiable evidence).
  • The documentation release log runs from 2025-04-28 to 2025-11-10.
  • The repo's pyproject.toml (workspace v1.1.0) pins Isaac Sim 5.1.0 and Isaac Lab 2.3.2.post1. That Isaac Lab version was published 2026-02-11, so the code was updated on or after February 2026.
  • Exact last-commit date not verified. Press coverage continued in August–September 2026.
• Who: UC Berkeley Hybrid Robotics.
  • Authors: Yufeng Chi, Qiayuan Liao, Junfeng Long, Xiaoyu Huang, Sophia Shao, Borivoje Nikolić, Zhongyu Li, Koushil Sreenath.
  • Published at RSS 2025.
• Links: github.com/HybridRobotics/Berkeley-Humanoid-Lite; lite.berkeley-humanoid.org; arXiv 2504.17249; GitBook docs.
• GitHub stats: NOT fetched (429). Docs releases are listed above.
• License: Code MIT. Other assets (CAD) CC BY-SA 4.0.
• What it is:
  • Body: 0.8 m, 16 kg, 22 actuated DoF (6 per leg, 5 per arm, matching the joint names in the env configs).
  • Actuators: 22 modular 3D-printed cycloidal actuators — 10× "6512" (about $188 each) and 12× "5010" (about $136 each), using drone motors.
  • Motor config: 15:1 gearing, 14 pole pairs, Kt 0.1176 N·m/A, 4096-CPR encoder (motor_configuration.json).
  • Built from PLA with embedded brass, on a 200 mm³ desktop printer.
  • Compute: Intel N95 mini PC.
  • Total hardware under $5,000.
  • Teleoperation via SteamVR.
  • Simulation models: URDF, MJCF and USD exported from Onshape.
  • Stack: Isaac Lab tasks, MuJoCo sim2sim, Pinocchio/Pink inverse kinematics.
• Adoption: No numbers verified. Press coverage August–September 2026.
• Benchmarks (Interesting Engineering, 2026-08-31, from the paper):
  • Gearbox efficiency about 90%.
  • Torque-tracking error within 0.5 N·m.
  • 60-hour endurance test: stable efficiency, gradual increase in backlash.
  • Six actuators from two different printers performed consistently.
  • Zero-shot sim-to-real RL walking.
  • Manipulation demos: writing, Rubik's cube, box packing.
• Trade-offs:
  • For: the cheapest research-credible open-hardware humanoid with fully open actuators, permissive code licence and all three simulation formats.
  • Against: plastic gearboxes wear (backlash grows); low payload; small team. The documentation history shows repeated BOM, joint-limit and print-file fixes.
  • Choose it over ToddlerBot if you need a larger body or brushless actuators. Choose ToddlerBot for robustness and cheaper repairs.
• Sources:
  • Repo files via GitHits: README.md, LICENCE, pyproject.toml, motor_configuration.json, env_cfg.py
  • lite.berkeley-humanoid.org
  • berkeley-humanoid-lite.gitbook.io/docs/releases
  • interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/new-3d-printed-berkeley-humanoid-lite
  • pypi isaaclab (GitHits)

ToddlerBot / ToddlerBot 2.0 (Stanford): 0.56 m, 30-DoF ML-first humanoid

• Status: ACTIVE to SLOWING.
  • ToddlerBot 2.0 released 2025-08-25.
  • "Locomotion Beyond Feet" released 2026-01-08 (arXiv 2601.03607).
  • Commit dates after January 2026 not verified.
• Who: Haochen Shi (lead, Stanford). Authors on the 2026 paper include Tae Hoon Yang, Shuran Song and C. Karen Liu. Published at CoRL 2025 (PMLR v305).
• Links: github.com/hshi74/toddlerbot; toddlerbot.github.io; arXiv 2502.00893 and 2601.03607; Onshape; MakerWorld.
• GitHub stats (GH): 719 stars, 89 forks, 48 commits, no release tags.
• License: Code and docs MIT. Design files CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (non-commercial).
• What it is:
  • Body: 0.56 m, 3.4 kg, under $6,000 total (arXiv abstract); 30 active DoF.
  • Motors: Dynamixel (XC330, XC430, 2XL430, XM430).
  • ROBOTIS sells a "ToddlerBot Bundle Kit" (motors and U2D2 only) for $4,335.51.
  • Two hardware variants: 2xc (v1 motors) and 2xm (upgraded hip and arm motors).
  • Compute: Jetson Orin NX. Docs also cover ROG Ally X and Steam Deck setups.
• 2.0 features:
  • Cartwheel and crawl via DeepMimic.
  • Faster walking.
  • Meta Quest VR teleoperation.
  • FoundationStereo depth at 10 Hz (TensorRT on Orin NX).
  • C++ Dynamixel loop raised from 50 to 200 Hz.
  • Rewritten Onshape-to-MJCF/URDF pipeline.
  • MJX training with rsl_rl.
  • Terrain generator.
  • Keyframe animation app.
• Simulation models: URDF; MJCF of 2XC/2XM in MuJoCo Menagerie (MIT).
• Adoption: Successful independent replication (paper). Community build programs exist (Genboo "Humanoid Cohort 03 × ToddlerBot", page title only).
• Benchmarks:
  • Zero-shot sim-to-real.
  • Changelog admits: "with naive DeepMimic and domain randomization, the success rate is still low" for cartwheels, but the robot "almost never breaks".
• Trade-offs:
  • For: the best documented ML-first small humanoid; cheap, robust and fast to iterate; MJX/MuJoCo native.
  • Against: the non-commercial design licence; servo-grade dynamics. The maintainers say they will ignore issues that do not follow the docs.
• Sources:
  • github.com/hshi74/toddlerbot (GH; README, CHANGELOG, LICENSE and docs via GitHits)
  • arxiv.org/abs/2502.00893
  • robotis.us/products/toddlerbot-bundle-kit

Asimov v0 / v1 (Menlo Research, Singapore): open full-stack 1.2 m humanoid

• Status: ACTIVE.
  • Asimov 0 (legs) open-sourced 2026-01-27.
  • Asimov 1 open-sourced 2026-04-27.
  • asimov-1 repo updated 2026-07-03.
• Who: Menlo Research Pte. Ltd. (Singapore).
• Links: github.com/asimovinc/asimov-1, /asimov-v0, /asimov-mjlab; asimov.inc; menlo.ai blog.
• GitHub stats (GH):
  • asimov-1: about 1.0k stars (repo page shows "1k", 163 forks, 23 commits; the org listing showed 972 / 152).
  • asimov-v0: 764 stars.
  • asimov-mjlab: 58 stars (Apache-2.0).
• License: Hardware CERN-OHL-S-2.0; software GPL-2.0.
• What it is:
  • 1.2 m, 35 kg, 25 actuated DoF plus 2 passive toes (6-DoF legs, 5-DoF arms, 1 waist, 2 neck); peak 120 N·m.
  • Compute: Raspberry Pi 5 plus Radxa CM5.
  • Monocular camera; parallel RSU ankle; Encos actuators; Multi Jet Fusion printed structure.
  • Included: mechanical CAD (7 subassemblies), electrical schematics and PCBs, MuJoCo model, onboard software.
  • Still pending (README): Asimov API, locomotion policy, mobile app.
• Price:
  • DIY kit: $499 deposit, about $15k target, shipping "summer 2026" (self-reported). Whether it shipped is unverified.
  • An August 2026 headline calls it "the $20,000 IKEA humanoid" (unverified).
  • The legs subsystem cost just over $10k, of which actuators and joint parts were about $8.5k (Menlo blog, 2026-01-28).
• Benchmarks: Knee handles about a 40 kg quasi-static push (self-reported).
• Trade-offs:
  • For: the most permissive-reciprocal full-size open humanoid with real QDD actuators.
  • Against: no released locomotion policy yet; expensive versus a G1 at $13.5k; copyleft licences (GPL/CERN-S) deter some commercial users.
• Sources: github.com/orgs/asimovinc/repositories; github.com/asimovinc/asimov-1; menlo.ai/blog/humanoid-legs-100-days; opensourceforu.com (2026-05).

Roboto Origin (RoboParty): "full-stack" open DIY humanoid from China

• Status: ACTIVE. Developed April–August 2025; open-sourced January 2026; BOM dated 2026-01-05.
• Who:
  • RoboParty. The GitHub README says Shanghai, founded 2025-02-21; Interesting Engineering says Beijing (conflict).
  • Founder Yi Huang (21).
  • $10M seed from MPCi, Xiaomi and Galbot. A Dealroom headline reports a later $69M raise (unverified detail).
• Links: github.com/Roboparty/roboto_origin (an aggregation of 8 modules); oshwhub.com (LCSC open-hardware platform).
• GitHub stats (GH): 2.2k stars, 290 forks, 670+ commits.
• License: Mixed (LICENSES.md):
  • Repo root, deploy and XR-teleop modules: GPL-3.0-only. Firmware and navigation modules: GPL-3.0 by default.
  • Training module: BSD-3-Clause.
  • Description (URDF/MJCF) and appearance modules: CERN-OHL-W-2.0.
  • Hardware module: licensed separately.
• What it is:
  • 1.25 m, 34 kg, about 3 m/s (self-reported).
  • BOM "ATOM 01 v1.0.1": total ¥49,713 (about $7k), comprising:
    • 14× Damiao DM-4340P at ¥949 and 9× DM-10010L at ¥1,989, so 23 actuators.
    • CNC aluminium frame: ¥15.7k.
    • Compute: D-Robotics RDK X5 8GB.
    • Battery: 48 V 15 Ah.
    • USB-to-CAN interfaces.
  • Software: Isaac Lab 2.1.1 RL with an AMP-style gait and sim2sim; ROS 2 Humble; XR teleop (derived from Unitree code).
• Adoption: About 100 kit pre-orders (Interesting Engineering, February 2026).
• Trade-offs:
  • For: the most complete open supply chain (Taobao-linked BOM) at roughly half a G1's price.
  • Against: Chinese-language-first community (QQ group); GPL-heavy; actuators are closed Damiao units.
• Sources: github.com/Roboparty/roboto_origin (GH; LICENSES.md and BOM_EN.md via GitHits); interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/worlds-first-full-stack-humanoid-robot-open-sourced.

OpenLoong / Qinglong (Shanghai Humanoid Robot Innovation Center; OpenAtom community)

• Status: ACTIVE, but the GitHub org is a mirror: "Active development moved to atomgit.com/openloong". GitHub updates include loong_driver_sdk (2026-07-11) and LoongMarathonNav (2026-04-21).
• Who: The Shanghai humanoid innovation center, with OpenAtom Foundation hosting. Qinglong was unveiled at WAIC in July 2024.
• GitHub stats (GH, org page):

The org has 374 followers.

• License: Hardware is Solderpad Hardware License v2.1 (an Apache-2.0 wrapper). However, the README says the files are "for technical learning and research purposes only".
• What it is (README, self-reported):
  • 43 DoF, 80 kg, at least 5 km/h, at least 20 kg payload, at least 3 h battery, up to 400 TOPS, EtherCAT.
  • Dimensions are listed ambiguously as 2192×1850×300 mm; height is widely reported as about 1.85 m.
  • Open files are mostly 2D PDF part drawings (waist, chest, head, leg) for "QingLoong V2.5", not full parametric CAD.
• Trade-offs:
  • For: a full-size open reference design.
  • Against: heavy; drawings rather than CAD; a contradictory use restriction; Western developers face friction on AtomGit.
• Sources: github.com/loongOpen; OpenLoong-Hardware README and licence (GitHits).

Tiangong / Tien Kung (Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, "X-Humanoid")

• Status: ACTIVE.
  • TienKung-Lab updated 2026-09-14.
  • Tiangong 3.0 launched 2026-02-10.
  • $100M commercial financing reported 2026-02-03.
• Links: github.com/Open-X-Humanoid (441 followers, 24 repos).
• GitHub stats (GH):

• What exactly is open:
  • Verified: RL locomotion (TienKung-Lab, Isaac Sim 4.5 / Isaac Lab 2.1; AMP plus periodic-gait rewards; motion retargeting via GMR added 2025-09-27; sim2real demo 2025-11-07), deployment code, URDF, ROS low-level control, the RoboMIND dataset and toolchain, the Pelican-VL model, and the XR-1 VLA.
  • "Physical design blueprints" are claimed (HumanoidsDaily), but I found no hardware CAD in the GitHub org.
  • So it is open software plus URDF, with hardware openness unverified.
• Specs: Tiangong 3.0 is 169 cm, 62 kg, 43 DoF. It won the first humanoid half-marathon in April 2025 (README); a 21.5 s 100 m was reported for Tiangong Ultra.
• Sources: github.com/Open-X-Humanoid; TienKung-Lab README (GitHits); humanoidsdaily.com (Tiangong 3.0); english.www.gov.cn (2024-11-13, few specifics).

AgiBot Lingxi X1: open full-stack humanoid from 2024; hardware frozen

• Status: DORMANT (hardware). The last hardware folder is "智元灵犀X1_20250307" (2025-03-07). The AgiBot org itself is active (genie_sim updated 2026-09-07).
• Links: github.com/AgibotTech/agibot_x1_hardware, /agibot_x1_infer, /agibot_x1_train.
• GitHub stats (GH):
  • agibot_x1_infer: 1.8k stars, 538 forks.
  • agibot_x1_train: 1.7k stars, 508 forks; a single commit.
  • agibot_x1_hardware: 1.1k stars, 334 forks, 25 commits.
• License: Not shown on the GitHub pages; no LICENSE file in agibot_x1_train (GitHits listing). Treat as unclear.
• What it is (aiwiki, secondary):
  • 130 cm, 33 kg, 34 DoF (29 body, 2 gripper, 3 head), 1 m/s, about 2 h.
  • PowerFlow QDD actuators: R86-3 (200 N·m), R86-2 (80 N·m), R52 (19 N·m).
  • EtherCAT plus FDCAN at 1 kHz; AimRT middleware.
  • Training: Isaac Gym Preview 4 plus MuJoCo sim2sim.
  • Price about $19.5k (secondary, unverified).
  • The successor X2 is not open hardware.
• Sources: github.com/AgibotTech; agibot_x1_hardware and agibot_x1_train pages; aiwiki.ai/wiki/agibot_x1/raw.

Fourier N1: partially open 1.3 m humanoid

• Status: SLOWING. The docs repo fourier-grx-N1 was last updated 2026-03-17.
• Who: Fourier (Shanghai); R&D Director Cai Yusheng. Launched April 2025.
• GitHub stats (GH): FFTAI/fourier-grx-N1, 21 stars, MIT. It is a documentation site only, "not SDK source"; examples live in the FourierN1 branch of Wiki-GRx-Deploy.
• License: Docs MIT. N1 URDF Apache-2.0 (Wiki-GRx-Models). N1 MJCF Apache-2.0 (Menagerie).
• What is open: BOM, structural blueprints, assembly guide, core control and base software (Yicai, 2025-04-14). The hardware files' licence and location are unverified (Fourier's site renders via JavaScript only).
• Specs: 1.3 m, 38 kg, 3.5 m/s running, more than 2 h battery (self-reported). Price "flexible" or not public.
• Sources: github.com/FFTAI; fourier-grx-N1 README (GitHits); yicaiglobal.com (N1); robot_descriptions README.

K-Scale Labs K-Bot / Z-Bot (Zeroth-01): DISCONTINUED

• Status: DISCONTINUED (company).
  • Shutdown announced 4–5 November 2025.
  • Pre-orders cancelled and refunded; all IP released.
  • Some repos still received commits afterwards: kscalelabs/zeroth-bot 2026-04-01, firmware 2026-04-23, kteleop 2026-02-11.
• Who:
  • Benjamin Bolte (CEO; ex-Meta AI, ex-Tesla Autopilot).
  • Co-founder Jingxiang Mo departed.
  • Y Combinator W24; $500k seed documented; a $20M Series A was sought and failed.
  • Bolte: "I kind of had bet the farm on the Kbot launch… I was overindexing on how easy I thought it would be to get funding."
• GitHub stats (GH):
  • kbot: 377 stars (updated 2025-11-07).
  • ksim: 225 stars (MIT; last push 2025-10-29; v0.2.10 2025-08-18).
  • ksim-gym: 314 stars.
  • zeroth-robotics/zeroth-bot: 832 stars, 131 forks, MIT.
  • kinfer: 20 stars.
  • The org has 1.1k followers and 133 repos.
• License: The kbot README says hardware is CERN-OHL-S and software is GPL v3, but the LICENSE file is MIT (© 2025). LICENSE-HW is CERN-OHL-S v2. Z-Bot is MIT.
• What it was:
  • K-Bot: about 1.4 m, 120 N·m actuators, $8,999. Batch sizes conflict: the first batch was limited to 100 with at least 2 shipped (mikekalil), versus "sold out second batch" in September 2025 (HumanoidsDaily).
  • Z-Bot: about 46 cm, kit under $1k, BOM from $350, Feetech servos, MJCF/URDF with system-identified actuators.
• Takeaway: The cautionary tale for open-hardware humanoid economics, and a reusable codebase (ksim, MJX/JAX-based).
• Sources:
  • mikekalil.com/blog/k-scale-labs-shuts-down/ and /blog/kscale-labs/
  • humanoidsdaily.com ("Watch: K-Scale Labs CEO Explains Shutdown")
  • github.com/kscalelabs; github.com/zeroth-robotics/zeroth-bot
  • kbot README and licences (GitHits); pypi ksim/kscale/kinfer (GitHits)

HopeJR (Hugging Face × TheRobotStudio)

• Status: ACTIVE R&D, but not shipped as far as I could find.
  • Announced 2025-05-29 at about $3,000, with first units "by end of 2025" and a waitlist (TechCrunch).
  • Latest repo upload 2026-04-30: a test STL for a Robstride RS02 series-elastic spring mount.
  • My search budget ran out before I could confirm delivery status.
• Who: Rob Knight (TheRobotStudio; original humanoid), Martino Russi (Hugging Face; arm, exoskeleton and LeRobot integration).
• GitHub stats (GH): TheRobotStudio/HOPEJr, 810 stars, 99 forks, 89 commits, no releases.
• License: Apache-2.0 (Humanoid/LICENSE, © 2024 The Robot Studio).
• What it is:
  • Claimed 66 actuated DoF, walking and manipulation (TechCrunch).
  • The open arm uses Feetech servos: 16 SCS0009 in the hand, plus STS3250, STS3215 and SM8512BL. Tendon-driven fingers with an underactuated DIP joint.
  • Teleoperation exoskeleton with hall-effect encoders on every joint ("Homunculus"); no soldering needed.
  • Integrated with LeRobot. Full-body URDF included.
• Trade-offs: The only open, low-cost, full-size humanoid design paired with a matching teleop exoskeleton, which is relevant to data collection. Its viability as a product is unproven.
• Sources: github.com/TheRobotStudio/HOPEJr (GH; files via GitHits); techcrunch.com (2025-05-29); huggingface.co/posts/clem/522668354429256.

LeRobot Humanoid (Hugging Face, May 2026): about $2.6k open biped

• Status: ACTIVE (released late May 2026).
• Who: Virgile Batto ("initially developed… during his time at Hugging Face LeRobot"), with Haixuan Xavier Tao (dora-rs).
• Links:
  • github.com/Virgileboat/lerobot-humanoid (workspace).
  • Hardware, model, runtime, identification and design live under huggingface/lerobot-humanoid-*.
  • Public Onshape CAD.
• License: Apache-2.0 (hardware repo, © 2026 Hugging Face).
• What it is:
  • Currently the biped platform only; the upper body is out of scope for now.
  • 12 DoF; 12 Robstride motors (about $1,880 in total).
  • 3D-printed PLA+ (75 parts); Raspberry Pi 5; BNO055/085 IMU.
  • BOM $2,636 (Sina, 2026-05-31). The README targets under $5k.
  • Model repo: MJCF/URDF. Identification repo: MuJoCo-Warp replay plus CMA-ES fitting of simulator parameters.
• Sources: finance.sina.com.cn (2026-05-31); lerobot-humanoid and lerobot-humanoid-hardware README and LICENSE (GitHits).

Open Duck Mini, and Microduck (Pollen Robotics / Hugging Face)

• Status: ACTIVE. Microduck pre-orders opened 2026-08-27, with delivery targeted before Christmas 2026. Commit dates for the Open Duck Mini repo were not verified.
• Who: Open Duck Mini is led by Antoine Pirrone (recalled) and sponsored by Hugging Face and Pollen. Microduck is a Pollen/Hugging Face product.
• GitHub stats (GH): apirrone/Open_Duck_Mini, 4.2k stars, 537 forks, Apache-2.0.
• What it is:
  • Open Duck Mini v2: about 42 cm, BOM under $400, Raspberry Pi Zero 2W, actuator identification with Rhoban BAM; a mini version of Disney's BDX.
  • Microduck: $399; 25 cm, under 800 g, 15 motors; Rockchip RK3566 with 1 GB RAM; camera, dual IMUs, 8×8 LiDAR; about 1 h battery (NP-F550).
  • Microduck software: Apache-2.0 (microduck_rl and runtime). PPO in mjlab / MuJoCo-Warp; "usable gait in 1–2 h on a CUDA GPU at 4096 environments" (self-reported). Domain randomization over voltage sag, command delay, friction and ±1° backlash.
  • Microduck's mechanical and electronic design files are NOT open-source.
• Adoption: More than 10,000 Microducks sold "in days" (CNBC, Quartz and RobotToday headlines, 2026-09-01; I could not read the article bodies).
• Sources: github.com/apirrone/Open_Duck_Mini; marktechpost.com (2026-08-28).

iCub / ergoCub (IIT)

• Status: SLOWING by verified evidence, though probably active.
  • icub-models 3.2.0 released 2026-02-26.
  • ergocub-software plans a "2026.02 distro" and has moved under the mesh-iit org.
• GitHub stats: robotology/icub-main 121 stars, 106 forks, GPL-2.0 plus BSD (GH). icub-models 47 stars (GitHits).
• License: iCub models CC-BY-SA-4.0. ergoCub URDF BSD-3.
• What it is: The canonical open research humanoid (recalled: about 1 m, about 22 kg, 53 DoF, roughly €250k). Stack: YARP, Gazebo, conda-forge packages. Simulation models: URDF/SDF; both robots are in robot_descriptions.
• Trade-offs: Excellent whole-body-control and tactile research legacy, but expensive, a niche middleware (YARP), and poor fit with the RL/VLA tooling wave.
• Sources: github.com/robotology/icub-main; ergocub-software README (GitHits); pypi icub-models (GitHits).

Upkie (wheeled biped)

• Status: ACTIVE.
  • v13.0.0 released 2026-10-01; it moved RL code to a separate rl_zoo3_balancer repo on Codeberg.
  • v11.0.0 (2026-04-07) added support for switching between Upkie and the "Cookie" wheeled biped.
• Who: Stéphane Caron (Inria) (recalled).
• GitHub stats (GitHits): upkie/upkie 436 stars, 57 forks, Apache-2.0, last push 2026-10-02.
• What it is: 6-DoF wheeled biped on mjbots-class actuators (recalled). MPC and RL; Python API. Upkie and Cookie URDFs are in robot_descriptions.
• Sources: pypi upkie (GitHits); robot_descriptions README.

4. Upper-body, wheeled and mobile bimanual platforms

Reachy 2 (Pollen Robotics / Hugging Face)

• Status: SLOWING (SDK). reachy2-sdk 1.0.15 released 2025-10-29; last push 2025-11-26. The product is still listed.
• Who: Pollen Robotics (Bordeaux), acquired by Hugging Face in April 2025 (TechCrunch).
• GitHub stats (GitHits): reachy2-sdk 71 stars, 11 forks, Apache-2.0. LeRobot compatibility added 2025-09-04.
• What it is:
  • Height 136–166 cm; up to 50 kg.
  • 7-DoF bio-inspired arms (about 3 kg each) on Orbita 2D/3D parallel actuators.
  • Omnidirectional 3-omniwheel base with LiDAR; stereo plus RGB-D cameras.
  • ROS 2 Humble with a Python SDK; VR teleoperation app.
  • Price is not on the page; roughly $70k was reported at the 2024 launch (unverified).
• Sources: pollen-robotics.com/reachy-2/; pypi reachy2-sdk (GitHits).

Reachy Mini (Pollen / Hugging Face / Seeed)

• Status: ACTIVE. reachy-mini v1.11.0 released 2026-09-21; 73 versions.
• GitHub stats: pollen-robotics/reachy_mini 1.4k stars, 279 forks, 2,897 commits (GH). PyPI: about 12k downloads per month (GitHits).
• License: Software Apache-2.0. Hardware design files CC BY-SA-NC (non-commercial).
• What it is:
  • 28 cm tall, 1.5 kg.
  • Wireless version: Raspberry Pi CM4, about 2 h battery, $499. Lite version: USB-tethered to a PC, $399. Launched at about $300 in 2025.
  • Camera, 4 microphones, speaker, accelerometer.
  • MuJoCo simulation.
  • App store on Hugging Face Spaces with 60+ apps; JavaScript/WebRTC SDK; an AGENTS.md for coding agents.
  • Kit assembles in 2–3 h.
• Adoption: 3,000 shipped by early February 2026 (originofbots); "over 10,000 units" shipped by late August 2026 (MarkTechPost, secondary).
• Pain point: Security advisory GHSA-m2pc-3q4q-w6jr (medium, 2026-09-10), "Unrestricted upload of file with dangerous type".
• Sources: github.com/pollen-robotics/reachy_mini; pollen-robotics.com/reachy-mini/; pypi reachy-mini (GitHits); originofbots.com; marktechpost.com.

OpenArm (Enactic): open 7-DoF humanoid arm and bimanual system

• Status: ACTIVE. openarm_can 1.4.0 released 2026-09-16.
• GitHub stats: enactic/openarm 3.6k stars, 383 forks, 456 commits (GH). openarm_can 66 stars (GitHits).
• License: Hardware CERN-OHL-S-2.0 (STEP, STL, Fusion 360). Software Apache-2.0: description, CAN, ROS 2, teleop (unilateral and bilateral), Isaac Lab, MuJoCo, dataset, Dora.
• What it is: $6,500 for a complete bimanual system; backdrivable and compliant.
  • "OpenArm Cell": a standardized environment (background, lighting, camera placement) for reproducible evaluation. This is directly relevant to an environment or data business.
• Sources: github.com/enactic/openarm (GH; README via GitHits); pypi openarm-can.

XLeRobot (household dual-arm mobile robot)

• Status: SLOWING by dated news. Last news 2026-01-29: a MuJoCo plus 3D Gaussian Splatting browser demo. The two-wheel version came out 2025-12-02.
• Who: Gaotian "Vector" Wang (Rice University), plus MakerMods contributors.
• GitHub stats (GH): Vector-Wangel/XLeRobot 5.5k stars, 610 forks, 1,502 commits, Apache-2.0. Latest release v0.3.0 (2025-08-30).
• What it is: Built from SO-101 arms, LeKiwi and BamBot designs on an IKEA cart.
  • Parts cost about $660 (excluding 3D printing); developer kit $579 (Wowrobo) or ¥3,699.
  • Under 4 h assembly (self-reported).
  • Keyboard, Xbox, Joy-Con and Quest 3 VR teleop; MuJoCo; RL/VLA tutorials.
• Sources: github.com/Vector-Wangel/XLeRobot (GH; README via GitHits).

LeKiwi and BamBot

• LeKiwi (SIGRobotics UIUC with Hugging Face): 1.4k stars, 155 forks, Apache-2.0.
  • SO-ARM101 arm on a 3-omniwheel base, Raspberry Pi 5, 5 V or 12 V power, URDF.
  • The LeRobot-integrated mobile base; there is also a Dynamixel variant.
• BamBot (Tim Qian): 953 stars, Apache-2.0. Billed as an about $300 open low-cost humanoid (demo-video title). URDF in robot_descriptions.
• Sources: github.com/SIGRobotics-UIUC/LeKiwi; github.com/timqian/bambot (GH; READMEs via GitHits).

Mobile ALOHA

• Status: DORMANT. Still on ROS 1 Noetic and Ubuntu 18.04/20.04; ROS 2 marked "ongoing".
• GitHub stats (GH): MarkFzp/mobile-aloha 4.5k stars, 733 forks, 73 commits, MIT (© Tony Z. Zhao).
• Notes: Historic and influential. The 2024 hardware cost was roughly $32k (recalled). Superseded commercially by Trossen and other kits.
• Source: github.com/MarkFzp/mobile-aloha.

TidyBot++

• Status: Likely DORMANT. CoRL 2024; 5 commits visible.
• GitHub stats (GH): jimmyyhwu/tidybot2 609 stars, 69 forks, MIT.
• What it is: Holonomic powered-caster base for any arm, with phone teleop and a full simulation pipeline (arXiv 2412.10447).
• Source: github.com/jimmyyhwu/tidybot2.

Hello Robot Stretch

• Status: ACTIVE. Stretch 4 now sells at $29,950; Stretch 3 is legacy. stretch_body was pushed 2026-06-10.
• GitHub stats (GitHits): stretch_body 36 stars (LGPL-3.0). stretch_urdf 16 stars.
• Simulation models: Stretch 4 URDF (BSD-3-Clause-Clear); Stretch 3 MJCF in Menagerie.
• Sources: hello-robot.com; pypi hello-robot-stretch-body (GitHits); robot_descriptions README.

ROBOTIS AI Worker

• Status: ACTIVE. The ffw package hit 2.2.8 on 2026-09-18, adding MuJoCo models for the BG2/SG2/SH5 variants.
• License: Apache-2.0 software; closed commercial hardware.
• Sources: ai_worker README, CHANGELOG and LICENSE (GitHits).

5. Actuators and motor drivers

mjbots moteus (Josh Pieper)

• Status: ACTIVE. v1.0.0 (2026-05-28) was the first semantic-versioned release; v1.1.1 on 2026-08-04; last push 2026-09-04.
• GitHub stats (GitHits): mjbots/moteus 1.2k stars, 379 forks.
• License: Apache-2.0.
• Notes: The most capable fully open field-oriented-control (FOC) brushless controller for legged robots; CAN-FD with Python and C++ libraries. Upkie is in this ecosystem.

ODrive

• Status: The open firmware is DORMANT. The README says v3.x firmware is "no longer under active development", and next-generation firmware (Pro, S1, Micro) source "is currently not publicly available. Access may be available under NDA".
• GitHub stats (GH): odriverobotics/ODrive 3.7k stars, 1.7k forks, MIT.
• Other: The Python package odrive is at 0.6.11.post1 (2026-08-31), MIT.

SimpleFOC

• GitHub stats (GH): simplefoc/Arduino-FOC 3.0k stars, 754 forks, MIT; library v2.4.0 (release date not verified).
• Notes: Good for low-power joints and education, not for high-torque legs.

MIT Mini Cheetah actuator / Ben Katz motorcontrol

• Status: bgkatz/motorcontrol (MIT, © 2020) has recent maintenance: a Makefile build and a CLAUDE.md, dates unverified. Stars not fetched.
• Notes: The ancestor of today's Chinese QDD actuators.

Berkeley Humanoid Lite actuator

• 3D-printed cycloidal gearbox, 15:1, about 90% efficient.
• Two sizes: 6512 (about $188) and 5010 (about $136). Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (see section 3).

OpenQDD (Aaed Musa)

• GitHub stats (GH): aaedmusa/openqdd-v1 134 stars, 26 forks; licence not shown.
• What it is: 3D-printed quasi-direct-drive actuator; specifications live on aaedmusa.com (not read).

Closed comparators commonly used in open builds

• Feetech STS3215: $13.89; 16.5 kg·cm at 6 V (7.4 V version) or 30 kg·cm (12 V version) (SO-ARM100 README). Used in SO-101, XLeRobot, HopeJR and HumanaOpen.
• Dynamixel: ToddlerBot's 24-motor bundle plus U2D2 costs $4,335.51 (about $180 per motor). DynamixelSDK v4.1.0 (2026-09-14), 610 stars.
• Damiao: DM-4340P ¥949 and DM-10010L ¥1,989 (Roboto BOM, January 2026).
• Robstride: 12 motors for about $1,880 (LeRobot Humanoid). RS02 is used in HopeJR's legs.
• Encos: used in Asimov; leg actuators plus joint parts about $8.5k for 12 DoF.
• Unitree joint motors: sold inside its robots (G1 knee 90/120 N·m).
• Not verified today: CubeMars prices and torques, and Robstride and Damiao torque ratings.

6. Also notable (brief)

• Alia Humanoid (aliahumanoid/alia-humanoid-core): tendon-driven humanoid built to human proportions. STLs, electronics and firmware. Walking only in simulation (June 2026); "sim-to-real is gated by remaining hardware". ACTIVE.
• HumanaOpen (OneRobotAI/HumanaOpen): semi-humanoid built on LeRobot, with 7-DoF dual arms (ST3215), a differential-drive base and a leadscrew lift. Fusion 360, STEP, STL and URDF included. 2026; licence unverified.
• pib (pib-rocks/pib-backend): 3D-printed educational humanoid. Backend is AGPL-3.0. Variants pib4/pib5 edu, advanced and museum. Includes an MCP server, which implies 2025+ activity (dates unverified).
• Poppy Humanoid (Inria): DORMANT. poppy-humanoid 3.0.0 was released 2020-11-05; pypot (281 stars) last pushed 2022-05.
• ROBOTIS OP3: DORMANT on its main branch (changelog last 2018-03-26). OP3 MJCF is in Menagerie (Apache-2.0).
• InMoov, NimbRo-OP2X, ODRI Solo/Bolt, Duke Humanoid, AhaRobot: status not verified (search budget ran out). ODRI Solo URDF is in robot_descriptions (BSD-3). The Duke Humanoid controller repo uses EtherCAT/SOEM with Ubuntu 22.04.
• GENE.01 (Generative Bionics): its URDF is CC-BY-NC-4.0.
• Galaxea R1 Pro: URDF with 22 DoF, Apache-2.0.
• robot_descriptions.py: 833 stars; v3.2.0 on 2026-09-12; 86k downloads per month.
• mjlab: 3.1k stars; v1.6.0 on 2026-08-09; 54k downloads per month.
• LeRobot: 27k stars; v0.6.1 on 2026-08-03.

7. Comparison table

"n/v" means not verified today.

8. Gaps and pain points (evidence-based, aimed at a data / simulation / environment company)

1. The economics push research toward Unitree.
   • Evidence: G1 at $13.5k and R1 at $4.9k. More than 5,500 Unitree humanoids shipped in 2025, mostly to education and research. K-Scale died after failing to raise a $20M Series A. HopeJR missed its "end of 2025" target.
   • Implication: data and environment products should support the G1 (and Booster) first, and use open robots as secondary embodiments.
2. Licence fragmentation blocks commercial redistribution of assets.
   • ToddlerBot designs and Reachy Mini hardware are non-commercial.
   • The K-Bot README conflicts with its LICENSE file.
   • OpenLoong's Solderpad licence comes with a "research only" disclaimer.
   • AgiBot X1 repos lack a licence.
   • GENE.01's URDF is CC-BY-NC; iCub models are CC-BY-SA (flagged as incompatible in robot_descriptions).
   • Isaac Lab ships under "NVIDIA Proprietary Software" on PyPI.
   • Microduck's hardware is closed.
   • A curated, licence-cleared, simulation-ready asset library is a real gap.
3. Simulation-ready models are missing or unvalidated for most open humanoids.
   • Menagerie and robot_descriptions lack BHL, K-Bot/Z-Bot, Asimov, Roboto, OpenLoong, Tiangong, X1, Reachy 2/Mini, HopeJR and the Duck robots.
   • Each project rolls its own Onshape-to-robot export.
   • Documentation change logs show repeated fixes to joint limits and models (BHL 2025-11-10; ToddlerBot's "OnShape to MJCF pipeline rewrite").
4. Sim-to-real on cheap hardware needs actuator system identification that nobody standardizes.
   • ToddlerBot built a custom motor test bed and still reports low cartwheel success.
   • BHL's backlash grows over a 60-hour test.
   • Microduck randomizes voltage sag, command delay, friction and ±1° backlash.
   • LeRobot Humanoid created a dedicated MuJoCo-Warp plus CMA-ES identification repo.
   • Asimov's locomotion policy is still "pending"; Alia's sim-to-real is blocked on hardware.
   • Opportunity: actuator-model libraries (Damiao, Robstride, Encos, Feetech, Dynamixel) and identification-as-a-service.
5. Toolchain churn and lock-in.
   • Legacy Isaac Gym still powers unitree_rl_gym (3.5k stars), booster_gym and agibot_x1_train.
   • Isaac Lab pins diverge: TienKung-Lab uses Isaac Sim 4.5 / Isaac Lab 2.1; unitree_rl_lab uses Isaac Lab 2.3.0 / Isaac Sim 5.1; BHL uses Isaac Sim 5.1 / Isaac Lab 2.3.2.post1.
   • mjlab (3.1k stars, 54k downloads per month) is gaining with Microduck and Asimov.
   • Webots (Booster), Unity (OpenLoong) and Gazebo/YARP (IIT) persist.
   • Opportunity: one robot-agnostic environment layer with maintained ports.
6. Teleoperation and data collection exist, but whole-body humanoid data is scarce and not standardized.
   • Teleop stacks: Unitree xr_teleoperate (Vision Pro / PICO / Quest), ToddlerBot Quest, BHL SteamVR, HopeJR hall-sensor exoskeleton, TidyBot++ phone, OpenArm bilateral.
   • Data and models: UnifoLM datasets are mostly G1 tabletop manipulation; Tiangong's RoboMIND; AgiBot World (CC BY-NC-SA, secondary).
   • Motion retargeting relies on GMR / AMASS.
   • Gaps: glove or egocentric-to-humanoid retargeting pipelines for open embodiments, dexterous-hand data, and shared formats beyond the LeRobot dataset format.
7. Benchmarks are mostly videos.
   • UnifoLM-X2 is "mostly a video and a claim". Speed claims (Fourier N1 3.5 m/s, Roboto 3 m/s) are self-reported.
   • Real competitions are few: RoboCup (Booster) and the half-marathon (Tiangong).
   • OpenArm Cell is one of the few standardized physical evaluation environments.
   • Opportunity: matched sim and real benchmark suites for low-cost humanoids.
8. Actuator and controller openness is shrinking.
   • ODrive's next-generation firmware is under NDA.
   • Open designs (BHL cycloidal, OpenQDD at 134 stars) are low-torque or low-adoption.
   • Most builds depend on closed Chinese QDD supply chains.
9. Discoverability, support and security friction.
   • OpenLoong's GitHub is only a mirror (AtomGit); Roboto's community is QQ-centric.
   • ToddlerBot will ignore issues that do not follow the docs.
   • Mobile ALOHA is stuck on ROS 1.
   • Reachy Mini's app store already has a file-upload advisory.
   • Kit buyers face pre-order risk (K-Scale refunds).

9. Every GitHub repo referenced, with stars fetched today

"GH" means read from the GitHub page; "GitHits" means from the GitHits index.

Unitree

• unitreerobotics/unitree_rl_gym — 3.5k (GH)
• unitreerobotics/xr_teleoperate — 1.7k (GH)
• unitreerobotics/unitree_ros — 1.6k (GH)
• unitreerobotics/unitree_sdk2 — 1.3k (GH)
• unitreerobotics/unitree_rl_lab — 1.3k (GH)
• unitreerobotics/unitree_mujoco — 1.2k (GH)
• unitreerobotics/unifolm-world-model-action — 1.1k (GH)
• unitreerobotics/unitree_IL_lerobot — 771 (GH)
• unitreerobotics/unifolm-vla — 546 (GH)
• unitreerobotics/unifolm-wla — 404, not fetched

Booster

• BoosterRobotics/booster_gym — 304 (GH)
• BoosterRobotics/booster_train, /booster_deploy, /booster_assets — not fetched

Fourier

• FFTAI/teleoperation — 166 (GH)
• FFTAI/Wiki-GRx-Deploy — 115 (GH)
• FFTAI/fourier-lerobot — 85 (GH)
• FFTAI/Wiki-GRx-Mujoco — 23 (GH)
• FFTAI/fourier-grx-N1 — 21 (GH)
• FFTAI/fourier-grx-client — 17 (GH)
• FFTAI/fourier_aurora_sdk — 10 (GH)
• FFTAI/Wiki-GRx-Models — not fetched

AgiBot

• AgibotTech/agibot_x1_infer — 1.8k (GH)
• AgibotTech/agibot_x1_train — 1.7k (GH)
• AgibotTech/genie_sim — 1.4k (GH)
• AgibotTech/agibot_x1_hardware — 1.1k (GH)
• AgibotTech/Genie-Envisioner-V1 — 581 (GH)
• AgibotTech/ACoT-VLA — 247 (GH)

OpenLoong

• loongOpen/OpenLoong-Dyn-Control — 339 (GH)
• loongOpen/Unity-RL-Playground — 317 (GH)
• loongOpen/OpenLoong-Hardware — 116 (GH)
• loongOpen/LoongMarathonNav — 31 (GH)
• loongOpen/MiniLoong — 17 (GH)
• loongOpen/loong_driver_sdk — 6 (GH)

X-Humanoid (Tiangong)

• Open-X-Humanoid/TienKung-Lab — 885 (GH)
• Open-X-Humanoid/XR-1 — 184 (GH)
• Open-X-Humanoid/x-humanoid-training-toolchain — 78 (GH)
• Open-X-Humanoid/TienKung_URDF — 49 (GH)
• Open-X-Humanoid/Deploy_Tienkung — 48 (GH)
• Open-X-Humanoid/xMimic — 28 (GH)

K-Scale and Zeroth

• zeroth-robotics/zeroth-bot — 832 (GH)
• kscalelabs/kbot — 377 (GH)
• kscalelabs/ksim-gym — 314 (GH)
• kscalelabs/ksim — 225 (GH) / 227 (GitHits)
• kscalelabs/onshape — 47 (GH)
• kscalelabs/zeroth-bot — 42 (GH)
• kscalelabs/kinfer — 20 (GitHits)
• kscalelabs/firmware — 8 (GH)
• kscalelabs/kscale — 8 (GitHits)

Academic open humanoids

• HybridRobotics/Berkeley-Humanoid-Lite — not fetched (429)
• hshi74/toddlerbot — 719 (GH)

Hugging Face, Pollen and related

• huggingface/lerobot — 27k (GitHits)
• apirrone/Open_Duck_Mini — 4.2k (GH)
• pollen-robotics/reachy_mini — 1.4k (GH)
• TheRobotStudio/HOPEJr — 810 (GH)
• pollen-robotics/reachy2-sdk — 71 (GitHits)
• huggingface/lerobot-humanoid-hardware — not fetched
• Virgileboat/lerobot-humanoid — not fetched
• TheRobotStudio/SO-ARM100 — not fetched

Other open humanoids

• Roboparty/roboto_origin — 2.2k (GH)
• asimovinc/asimov-1 — ~1.0k (GH)
• asimovinc/asimov-v0 — 764 (GH)
• asimovinc/asimov-mjlab — 58 (GH)
• upkie/upkie — 436 (GitHits)
• robotology/icub-main — 121 (GH)
• robotology/icub-models — 47 (GitHits)
• icub-tech-iit/ergocub-software — not fetched
• poppy-project/pypot — 281 (GitHits)
• pib-rocks/pib-backend — not fetched
• ROBOTIS-GIT/ROBOTIS-OP3 — not fetched
• aliahumanoid/alia-humanoid-core — not fetched
• OneRobotAI/HumanaOpen — not fetched
• generalroboticslab/dukeHumanoidHardwareControl — not fetched

Upper-body, mobile and bimanual

• Vector-Wangel/XLeRobot — 5.5k (GH)
• MarkFzp/mobile-aloha — 4.5k (GH)
• enactic/openarm — 3.6k (GH)
• SIGRobotics-UIUC/LeKiwi — 1.4k (GH)
• timqian/bambot — 953 (GH)
• jimmyyhwu/tidybot2 — 609 (GH)
• enactic/openarm_can — 66 (GitHits)
• hello-robot/stretch_body — 36 (GitHits)
• hello-robot/stretch_urdf — 16 (GitHits)
• ROBOTIS-GIT/ai_worker — not fetched

Other companies' open software

• OpenGalaxea/GalaxeaVLA — 683 (GH)
• engineai-robotics/engineai_legged_gym — 521 (GH)
• HighTorque-Robotics/Panthera-HT_Main — 212 (GH)
• HighTorque-Robotics/Mini-Pi-Plus_BeyondMimic — 183 (GH)
• engineai-robotics/engineai_humanoid — 170 (GH)
• engineai-robotics/engineai_rl_lab — 47 (GH)

Actuators and drivers

• odriverobotics/ODrive — 3.7k (GH)
• simplefoc/Arduino-FOC — 3.0k (GH)
• mjbots/moteus — 1.2k (GitHits)
• ROBOTIS-GIT/DynamixelSDK — 610 (GitHits)
• aaedmusa/openqdd-v1 — 134 (GH)
• adam-software/feetech-servo-python-sdk — 42 (GitHits)
• bgkatz/motorcontrol — not fetched

Simulation and tooling

• mujocolab/mjlab — 3.1k (GitHits)
• robot-descriptions/robot_descriptions.py — 833 (GitHits)