~$450 – $870 completeDIY BOM $482 with arms, Pi 5, 2 cams; base-only kits $179 (Seeed) to $326 (OpenELAB US); PartaBot full kit $699, or $849 assembled
AvailablePython from a laptopOmni driveSO-101 armLeRobot nativeKit
Possibly ≤ 1 weekShipping: ~1–2 wks. OpenELAB ships the WowRobo base from a US warehouse in 3–7 business days, and Seeed's Full Kit lists a US warehouse. WowRobo direct is 1–3 days prep + 2–5 days UPS (duties prepaid); the arm often ships separately. OpenELAB (US) ↗
Remote control: Run
lekiwi_host on the Pi, then LeKiwiClient in Python on a laptop (macOS/Linux/Windows): numpy frames in, action dicts out, over ZMQ/Wi-Fi. LeRobot officially supports Apple Silicon (MPS).Overview
The most developer-friendly option here. The laptop really is the brain, so adding an LLM, voice or a vision model is just more Python. It can also learn arm tasks by demonstration. The downsides are that it's a kit (printed parts, assembly), there's no depth, lidar or odometry, and small omni rollers dislike thick carpet and door thresholds, so it works best on hard floors or low rugs.
Top pick for an arm and LeRobot's learn-by-demonstration tools. Add an LD06 lidar (~$80) or the depth cam for mapping.
Specifications
| Category | Wheeled rovers · Laptop is the brain |
|---|---|
| Released | 2025 |
| Availability | Available |
| Programmability | Open source (hardware + software) |
| Best for | Ages 14+ (estimated) |
| Vision sensors | Camera, Depth camera |
| Actuators | Smart servos (Dynamixel, Feetech…) |
| Audio | No audio |
| Compute type | Raspberry Pi, Laptop / PC as the brain |
| Remote control | Python from a laptop |
| Size | Base ~33×33×12 cm, 2.4 kg; taller with the arm |
| Drive | 3-wheel omni (holonomic), Feetech STS3215 wheel servos |
| Compute | Raspberry Pi 5 as a thin host; the heavy work runs on the host computer |
| Vision | 2 USB RGB cams (front + wrist), ~2 MP/30 fps; optional Orbbec Gemini 2 depth (+$240) |
| Lidar | None |
| Sensors | Servo position/load/current feedback; no IMU or bumpers |
| Runtime | Not published (12 V 5–5.6 Ah pack) |
| Speed | 0.4 m/s, 90°/s turn |
| SDK | LeRobot (Python, Apache-2.0): teleop, dataset recording, ACT / SmolVLA / pi0 policy training |
Ratings & reviews
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