The original Stanford Pupper is a small 12-servo quadruped from Stanford Student Robotics, run by a Raspberry Pi 4 and steered with a PS4 controller. It can trot, hop and turn, and its Python controller can also be run in a PyBullet simulation. It is the best-documented of the Pupper builds.
At a glance
| Parts cost | $900–$1,000 (2024) project · The project gives a range of $900 to $1,000 for self-sourced parts source ↗ |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 3/5 Intermediate · Mostly bolt-together, but self-sourcing needs custom carbon fiber plates and a custom PCB ordered from vendors. |
| Build time | Not stated |
| Tools needed | 3D printer, soldering iron (heat-set inserts), hex and Torx drivers, outsourced carbon fiber routing and a custom power board (ordered, not made at home) |
| Motors | 12 hobby servos (3 per leg) |
| Controller | Raspberry Pi 4 |
| Sensors | None required for walking; PS4 controller for input |
| Published | ✓ Parts list✓ CAD/STL✓ Assembly guide✗ Wiring✓ Software✓ Video ReadTheDocs site (Sphinx, source in stanfordroboticsclub/Pupper) + Google Sheets parts list + Fusion 360 share + per-step YouTube videos |
| Activity | Last update 2024-07-03 · 1,809 GitHub stars · 673 forks on the code repo; issues mostly 2020-2022 |
| Kits | The docs name kits from MangDang and Cypress Software (current availability unconfirmed) |
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 source ↗ |
|---|---|
| Code | MIT source ↗ |
| Documentation | None found (site footer reads Copyright 2020, Nathan Kau, Abi Lopez) source ↗ |
Builder notes
Practical points from the project's issue tracker, forum and docs, each linked to its source.
- The docs themselves say buying one of the vendor kits will likely cost less than sourcing the parts individually, since several parts are custom made. source ↗
- Builders using newer Raspberry Pi OS images than the official one reported the PS4 joystick service failing because Bluetooth was not detected. Maintainers pointed to an early Bullseye Bluetooth bug and suggested updating the OS. source ↗
- The issue tracker's most active recent thread is people asking when Pupper v3 would be released, so most current development effort moved to Pupper v3. source ↗
Other quadrupeds plans
- Kame32 (MiniKame successor) · $90–$100 · difficulty 2/5
- Spot Micro (SpotMicroAI) · $420–$510 · difficulty 3/5
- SpotMicroESP32 Leika · $230–$600 · difficulty 3/5
- Pupper v3 · $2,000 · difficulty 4/5
- 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