Pupper v3 is a roughly 3 kg companion robot dog using 12 Steadywin GIM4305 brushless actuators and a Raspberry Pi 5, with a fisheye nose camera, microphone and voice interaction. Its controller is a neural-network policy trained in simulation and run under ROS 2. The build combines 3D-printed parts, off-the-shelf parts and two custom PCBs ordered with assembly from JLCPCB.
At a glance
| Parts cost | $2,000 project · The project says about $2,000 to build source ↗ |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 4/5 Advanced · Brushless actuators, two custom PCBs with a globally sourced IMU, and a ROS 2 / learned-policy software stack. |
| Build time | Not stated |
| Tools needed | 3D printer, soldering iron (heat-set inserts at 250 C), PCB assembly ordered from JLCPCB, motor driver flashing |
| Motors | 12 Steadywin GIM4305-10 brushless actuators (10:1 planetary) plus 9 g ear servos |
| Controller | Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB) |
| Sensors | BNO086 IMU, IMX296 fisheye camera, microphone, motor encoders, battery voltage |
| Published | ✓ Parts list✓ CAD/STL✓ Assembly guide✗ Wiring✓ Software✗ Video ReadTheDocs site + Google Sheets parts list + Onshape/Fusion 360 CAD + Google Slides assembly deck + custom Raspberry Pi image |
| Activity | Last update 2026-07-25 · 65 GitHub stars · Discord (referenced in the sourcing docs); monorepo 65 stars, 28 forks |
| Kits | Kits from Present Perfection (run by a community kit builder) and AIFitLab |
Licenses
No license is stated for the design files. They are published for building, but without a license the right to copy, modify or redistribute them is not granted.
| Design files | None found (Onshape and Fusion 360 models are public but carry no license statement; URDF repo G-Levine/pupper_v3_description is MIT) source ↗ |
|---|---|
| Code | GPL-3.0 source ↗ |
| Documentation | None found (site footer reads Copyright 2024, Hands-On Robotics) source ↗ |
Builder notes
Practical points from the project's issue tracker, forum and docs, each linked to its source.
- The BNO086 IMU is not in JLCPCB's local parts library, so it has to be bought through JLCPCB's global sourcing first and only then can the board assembly order be placed. source ↗
- In March 2025 the lead developer said the planned low-cost custom motor drivers were not yet in the mainline design, so builds used the stock Steadywin GIM4305-10 with its own drivers. Check the current parts list for which driver it lists. source ↗
- Public hardware files arrived well after the 2024 announcement, and for months builders could not find STLs, so older forum posts and videos may not match the released design. source ↗
- The written building page is short and points to an external Google Slides deck for the detailed assembly steps. source ↗
Other quadrupeds plans
- Kame32 (MiniKame successor) · $90–$100 · difficulty 2/5
- Stanford Pupper (servo version) · $900–$1,000 (2024) · difficulty 3/5
- Spot Micro (SpotMicroAI) · $420–$510 · difficulty 3/5
- SpotMicroESP32 Leika · $230–$600 · difficulty 3/5
- ODRI Solo 12 · $7,100 (2022) · difficulty 5/5
- Mini Pupper (MangDang) · $760 · difficulty 2/5
- Dingo Quadruped · $900 · difficulty 3/5
- Stanford Pupper v2.1 (DJI motor version) · $1,600 (2023) · difficulty 4/5
- openDog V3 · $2,800–$3,400 (2023) · difficulty 4/5