TipTap Biped
B✓ Links verified May 19, 2026
Guides and BOM only — orobot firmware does not yet support this hardware.
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65 stars on GitHub.
TipTap is a low-cost, desktop-sized 3D-printed bipedal robot designed for semi-direct drive walking research. Built around custom TipTap brushless motors with geared hip and knee joints, it provides an accessible platform for developing and testing bipedal locomotion algorithms on real hardware.
Source: https://github.com/DarrenLevine/TipTap
The robot has two legs each with hip and knee joints driven by custom quasi-direct drive motors (see the companion TipTapMotor project). The hip uses a pulley+hub gear transmission; knees use geared press-plate assemblies. A BeagleBone Blue runs the control software, communicating with motor controllers over RS-485.
A key design feature is control portability: the same Python library (tiptap.py) runs identically on both PyBullet simulation and real hardware. Algorithms developed in simulation transfer to hardware without code changes — just connect the physical robot and run the same script. The simulation spins up automatically when no hardware is detected.
The robot is fully 3D-printable in PLA+ on a standard FDM printer. All 16 printed parts are detailed in the BOM with quantities. Open source under MIT license with accompanying PyBullet simulation.
🖨 Print Files (16)
HipPulleyHub-PressurePlate.STL
SwivelPlateServoMountMirror.STL
PelvisBracket.STL
SwivelPlateServoMount.STL
UpperLegGeared-PressurePlate.STL
SwivelPlate.STL
Required Hardware
| Item | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 623ZZ 3mm × 10mm × 4mm Shielded Deep Groove Ball Bearing | 4 | Plus 12 more (3 per TipTap motor × 4) |
| MR63ZZ L-630 673ZZ Ball Bearings | 6 | |
| AST 6706-2RS Thin Section Bearing | 2 | |
| MG92B Servo Motor | 2 | |
| BESTORQ 300-3M-6 3M Timing Belt | 2 | |
| BeagleBone Blue (BBB) | 1 | Main controller |
| LM2596 Buck Converter | 1 | |
| Mini Micro ZH 1.5 3-Pin JST Connector | 1 | |
| JBtek USB to RS485 Converter Adapter (ch340T) | 1 | |
| UCEC Short USB 3.0 Extension Cable (left/right angle) | 1 | |
| uxcell 304 SS Dowel Pin 3mm × 30mm | 4 | |
| uxcell 304 SS Dowel Pin 3mm × 10mm | 2 | |
| Rubber vacuum cap 1/4" tube OD | 2 | |
| M3 × 8mm nylon bolt + nut | 4 | |
| 96817A156 thread-forming screws | ~200 | Plus 60 more (15 per TipTap motor × 4) |
| Mini zip ties | ~6 | |
| XT30U connector + 18AWG silicon wire | 7 | |
| TipTap Custom Motor (DirectServo) | 4 | See sub-BOM below; from github.com/DarrenLevine/TipTapMotor |