Bolt Biped Robot

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Bolt is an open-source 6-DOF bipedal robot developed by the Open Dynamic Robot Initiative (ODRI), a collaboration between Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, New York University, and associated labs. It uses the same torque-controlled actuator modules as the Solo quadruped series, but arranged in a two-legged configuration inspired by human locomotion.

Source: https://github.com/open-dynamic-robot-initiative/open_robot_actuator_hardware

Each leg has three degrees of freedom: hip abduction/adduction, hip flexion/extension, and knee flexion/extension, all driven by brushless motors with custom field-oriented control boards. The actuator modules use 3:1 planetary gearboxes with back-drivable design, enabling compliant whole-body contact and safe falling behavior — critical properties for bipedal walking research.

The 11-part printable body structure covers the front panel, back panel (including rev_a variant), left and right side panels, bottom plate, top plate with IMU mount, a Vicon motion-capture variant, master board protection cover, micro-driver stack spacer, and a development stand attachment.

The robot is designed for locomotion research using reinforcement learning and model-based control, with full open-source MuJoCo simulation models and real-time control software provided through the ODRI software ecosystem.

License: BSD-3-Clause.

Install Notes

This is a hardware design repository — CAD files and assembly specifications only, no standalone software. The Open Dynamic Robot Initiative publishes the associated software stack at odri.dev. Key repos: robot_interfaces, blmc_robots, master_board_sdk. The orobot Program code is a reference stub; it will not drive hardware without the full ODRI software stack.