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VelociRoACH / X2-VelociRoACH

UC Berkeley Biomimetic Millisystems Lab (USA) · 2013 · All UC Berkeley robots

Not for saleUniversity research robot, never sold (October 2026 check). Year from the IEEE ICRA 2013 paper. The X2 version followed in 2015.
Not for sale (research)Palm-sizedGuinness record4.9 m/s (X2)Cockroach-inspired
Not for saleShipping: Not for sale. Not available. A university research robot.

Overview

A 10 cm, 30 g cockroach-inspired hexapod that ran at 2.7 m/s, presented in 2013 as the fastest legged robot relative to its size. Two motors drive all six legs, and a passive plastic wing damps rolling and pitching at high speed. The 2015 X2-VelociRoACH, with 3D-printed parts and fiberglass legs, reached 4.9 m/s and holds the Guinness record for the fastest 3D-printed robot. It stays a lab platform, though its open-source successor OpenRoACH (2019) came from the same lab.

Specifications

CategoryMulti-legged robots · Research & legacy
Released2013
CountryUSA
AvailabilityNot for sale (research)
ProgrammabilityNo programmability
Built-in autonomyNone / scripted · Moves only when controlled, or plays preset motions
LLM supportNone · No built-in LLM and no public SDK to connect one.
Best forProfessionals & labs
Vision sensorsNo vision sensors
ActuatorsDC / gear motors
AudioNo audio
Compute typeArduino / ESP32 / microcontroller
ComputeImageProc board with a 40 MHz microprocessor, IMU, 802.15.4 radio and motor drivers
Weight30 g, 10 cm long (X2-VelociRoACH 54 g)
Speed2.7 m/s (VelociRoACH), 4.9 m/s (X2-VelociRoACH)
Legs / DOF2 (two 7 mm coreless DC motors, one per side, driving six legs through linkages)
SensorsIMU (3-axis gyroscope), magnetic motor encoders, motor back-EMF sensing
SDKNone for buyers. The lab's ImageProc control board design is published on GitHub

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