Getting your own SO-101
The SO-101 is the current generation of the SO-ARM100/101 line, designed by The Robot Studio with Hugging Face. Full upstream docs live in the SO-ARM100 repo; this page summarizes the two paths to owning one.
Build it yourself
- Source the components from the bill of materials below.
- 3D print the parts (or order the prints) — see Assembly & Wiring.
- Follow the official LeRobot SO-101 assembly guide.
Buy a kit
Assembled arms or parts kits are available from several vendors — check current pricing/availability directly, this list moves:
- RobotEd (Switzerland) — 3D-printed frame, electronics, and complete-arm kits
- Robonine (international) — parts kits
- PartaBot (US) — assembled versions
- ForgeMotion Labs (US) — frame/electronics/complete kits
- Seeed Studio (international/CN/JP) — 3D-printed kits
- WowRobo (international/CN) — assembled versions
- RoboSEasy (South Korea), NeoBot (China), Autodiscovery (EU)
A follower-only kit (no leader arm) is also available from Phospho — useful if you're teleoperating with a VR headset instead of a leader arm.
Sourcing parts (build-it-yourself)
Follower and leader arms share almost all the same off-the-shelf parts, except the servos. Pricing below is indicative (varies by region/time — see the SO-ARM100 README for current vendor links):
| Setup | Approx. cost (EU) |
|---|---|
| Follower + leader pair | ~€226 |
| Follower only | ~€124 |
Servo torque note: STS3215 servos come in a 7.4 V (16.5 kg·cm stall) and 12 V (30 kg·cm stall) variant. The leader arm is always 7.4 V on the SO-101; a 12 V follower needs a matching 12 V/5 A+ power supply.
Core parts for one follower arm: 6× STS3215 servo (7.4 V, 1/345 gear), one motor control board (Waveshare serial bus servo driver), a USB-C cable, a power supply, table clamps, and a small Phillips screwdriver set (#0 and #1).
Debugging motors
Any Windows PC can connect over USB to program and debug servos using the
official Feetech software. On Linux, use
FT_SCServo_Debug_Qt. This isn't required — servos can be
configured through the LeRobot library or this workspace's own soarm_sdk dashboard
— but it's useful for low-level debugging.