Open Source RoboticsRobots, software & field notes

LeKiwi

Based on published sources · Not tested by us ·

Overview

Three-wheel mobile manipulator with SO-100/SO-101 arm options, printed parts and a separate LeRobot teleoperation stack. [S001]

LeKiwi is a three-wheel holonomic mobile base carrying an SO-100/SO-101 follower arm. A separate leader arm and laptop provide teleoperation. This profile covers the documented Feetech-servo platform and its separately preserved LeRobot guide; the Dynamixel/Koch variant is a different configuration, not a drop-in substitution. [S001] [S008]

Specifications

DetailDescription
TypeThree-wheel holonomic base with a mounted follower arm and separate leader arm for teleoperation.
Reported by source [S001] [S008] · Checked 2026-10-01
Intended usersBuilders comfortable with servo setup, printed parts and a Raspberry Pi plus laptop workflow
Editorial assessment [S001] · Checked 2026-10-01
AssemblyPrint the base, mounts and matching camera/battery parts, assemble three wheel modules, then mount a separately built SO-100/SO-101 arm.
Reported by source [S006] [S007] · Checked 2026-10-01
CalibrationAssign arm motor IDs 1–6 and base IDs 7–9 in the documented order; calibrate leader and follower arms.
The guide says wheel motors do not need arm-style calibration; mounting order and IDs still matter.
Reported by source [S008] · Checked 2026-10-01
Operating systemNot known
Computer neededRaspberry Pi on the battery-powered robot and a laptop for the leader arm and keyboard control; wired version runs on the laptop.
Reported by source [S001] [S008] · Checked 2026-10-01

3D preview

Preview not available yet. A model has not yet been prepared and approved for display on this page. This does not mean the project lacks CAD files; see Source files and licenses for the reviewed source availability.

Assembly and use

The parts tables describe different robots

The bill of materials separates 5 V, 12 V and wired builds, and distinguishes a base-only price from a system including the two-arm teleoperation set. The battery-powered build lists a Raspberry Pi 5 with 4 GB RAM. In the wired route, LeRobot's guide says to run the commands on the laptop and skip the Pi installation. [S005] [S008]

The 12 V assembly includes a converter supplying 5 V to the Pi, while the 5 V route uses a different power-bank holder and wiring arrangement. Select the motors, power supply and printed holder as a matched configuration. The upstream regional price totals exclude printing and vary with time and supplier; no current delivered cost was verified for this review. [S005] [S007]

Printed parts depend on the selected peripherals

The printing guide supplies STL files and reports PLA settings tested by the authors: 15% infill and 0.2 mm layers. Some parts need supports. Camera mounts differ between the documented Arducam and webcam options, and the assembly guide explicitly says another camera may require modified mounts. The follower and leader arms are separate builds assumed by the base assembly instructions. [S006] [S007]

The archive also includes a CAD-exported URDF and meshes. That is useful robot-description material, but it does not establish a validated simulation. The complete Fusion 360 assembly remains an external link and was not preserved here. No parts were printed, assembled or checked for fit. [S001] [S004]

Motor IDs and calibration have different jobs

The preserved LeRobot guide assigns arm motor IDs 1–6 and base wheel IDs 7–9 in a specific mounting order on one robot-side control board. It separately calibrates the leader and follower arms. Its statement that wheel motors do not require calibration refers to that arm-calibration procedure; it does not make the wheel identities and mounting positions arbitrary. [S008]

For the battery-powered route, the robot runs a LeRobot host and the laptop runs the teleoperation client. The guide requires the correct robot IP and device ports and uses the leader arm for manipulation plus keyboard control for the base. It distinguishes recording-control keys from keyboard base driving: base driving requires a supported desktop input session and is not supported by that guide on Wayland or a headless machine. [S008]

The hardware archive and LeRobot archive were preserved independently. Their availability is not a compatibility test between those exact commits. Before reproducing the system, retain the chosen power version, arm revision, camera models, device mappings, calibration files and software revision together. This is an editorial preparation checklist; no robot was configured or driven here. [S002] [S005] [S008] [S009]

Scope of the open files

The hardware repository carries Apache 2.0 terms, as does the separately preserved LeRobot software. The printing guide credits adaptations of external wheel-hub and Pi-case models; their original terms were not reconciled in this review. Purchased servo and controller firmware are also outside the verified source set. No pretrained model or pre-existing dataset is required for the selected teleoperation route, and no learning performance is claimed. [S003] [S006] [S008] [S010]

Cost

No current, complete configuration-specific build cost has been established for this profile.

Source files and licenses

Available project sources support research coverage; complete build and commercial qualification remain separate.

LayerAvailability / license
mechanical designavailable · Apache-2.0
Repository-level terms for supplied files; some parts are attributed adaptations of external models whose original terms were not reconciled. Linked full Fusion assembly not preserved. [S003] [S004] [S006]
electronicsavailable · Apache-2.0
Integration instructions, not fabrication sources for purchased electronics. [S003] [S007]
firmwarenot found · License not fully assessed
Servo IDs and host software setup are documented; complete matching firmware sources for purchased servos and controller boards not established. [S004] [S008]
softwareavailable · Apache-2.0
LeRobot software is a separately preserved repository; hardware and software commits not tested together. [S008] [S009] [S010]
documentationavailable · Apache-2.0
Repository documentation; external linked arm designs and website content separate. [S003] [S007]

Selected teleoperation build does not require a pretrained policy or an existing dataset; recording and training are separate follow-on workflows.

References

Links identify the documentation and revisions used in this profile. Access dates record when each source was retrieved.

  1. S001 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    Upstream project overview
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · README.md
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

  2. S002 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    Repository revision and release metadata
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · efa608d7ee5a495a4803b1d28cd0c955b4f1e033
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

  3. S003 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    Repository license
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · LICENSE.txt
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

  4. S004 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    Pinned repository artifact inventory
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · efa608d7ee5a495a4803b1d28cd0c955b4f1e033 archive file inventory
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

  5. S005 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    LeKiwi: BOM.md
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · efa608d7ee5a495a4803b1d28cd0c955b4f1e033 / BOM.md
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

  6. S006 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    LeKiwi: 3DPrinting.md
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · efa608d7ee5a495a4803b1d28cd0c955b4f1e033 / 3DPrinting.md
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

  7. S007 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    LeKiwi: Assembly.md
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · efa608d7ee5a495a4803b1d28cd0c955b4f1e033 / Assembly.md
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

  8. S008 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    Preserved LeRobot LeKiwi guide
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · 7e241bd630a3719a56157a497ce5d08f244784f1 / docs/source/lekiwi.mdx
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

  9. S009 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    LeRobot source revision
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · 7e241bd630a3719a56157a497ce5d08f244784f1
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

  10. S010 · SIGRobotics-UIUC / project contributors
    LeRobot license
    Accessed 2026-10-01 · LICENSE
    Source notes

    Source text inspected for the cited scoped claims; see profile claim notes.

Research and review details

Source research only; no installation, physical build or performance test performed. No affiliate links added.

Profile edited 2026-10-01 · Sources checked 2026-10-01 · Next review target 2026-10-31

Revision: efa608d7ee5a495a4803b1d28cd0c955b4f1e033 (commit snapshot; no published stable release found). Combined hardware and software repository activity recorded 2026-08-05 [S002]

Correction guidance · Discussion is not enabled · Profile format 0.6.0-draft.1

Change history