Build Your Own

Kit Humanoid Robots

Three complete build templates. Each passes the HUMA Robot Compiler. Every part is from a real, identifiable supplier. The entire build process will be documented in public view — we're learning while you learn. Think of it as the Cobra kit car for humanoid robotics: you put it together in your garage (or lab), we publish the blueprints, the community improves the design.

entry tier
COMPILES

Kit 00 (Sub-$10K)

A real humanoid for under ten grand.

BOM Cost
$10,198
DOF
18
Height
160 cm
Payload
2 kg
Runtime
1 hr
Mass
19.1 kg

18 DOF bipedal humanoid built on EYOU Robotics harmonic and planetary actuators — the first Chinese actuator line with live Western retail pricing. EYOU PH17-101 hips (134 Nm peak), PH14-101 knees (34 Nm), PH11-101 ankles and elbows (25 Nm), PP11 wrists, and Dynamixel XL330 fingers. Raspberry Pi 5 for basic teleoperation and data logging. Full BOM under $10,000.

Who it's for

Budget-conscious makers, university clubs, and anyone who wants a walking humanoid platform without the $20K entry fee. Best for learning bipedal gait, teleoperation, and ROS 2 experimentation.

18 DOF bipedal platform, 160 cm tall
2 kg payload, ~1 hour runtime
EYOU PH17-101 harmonic hips (134 Nm peak — more torque than CubeMars AK80)
Learning curve: Steep. EYOU actuators use CAN/EtherCAT — expect CAN bus debugging, motor parameter tuning, and IK calibration. Chinese actuator documentation is improving but still sparse compared to CubeMars.
Build time: 2-4 months (part-time)
View Full BOM & Compile Check →
entry tier
COMPILES

Kit 01 (Entry)

Your first humanoid. Built in a garage.

BOM Cost
$11,211
DOF
22
Height
160 cm
Payload
2 kg
Runtime
1.5 hr
Mass
28.3 kg

22 DOF bipedal humanoid built from open-source community parts. Chinese supply chain for cost, Korean smart servos for fingers, NVIDIA Jetson Nano for basic vision and teleop control. The learning-by-building starter — most parts are commodity, replacements are easy, failure modes are well-documented.

Who it's for

Roboticists, makers, and university research groups who want to get hands-on with a real humanoid form factor. Best for learning, teleoperation demos, and custom AI experimentation at edge tier.

22 DOF bipedal platform, 160 cm tall
2 kg payload, ~1.5 hour runtime
CubeMars AK80 hips + AK60 knees (open-source QDD standard)
Learning curve: Steep. Expect 3-6 months of part-time build. CAN bus debugging, motor tuning, and inverse kinematics calibration. Full documentation on the public build journal.
Build time: 3-6 months (part-time)
View Full BOM & Compile Check →
mid tier
COMPILES

Kit 02 (Mid)

The balanced build. Production-capable dexterity.

BOM Cost
$20,308
DOF
28
Height
170 cm
Payload
8 kg
Runtime
2.5 hr
Mass
28.2 kg

28 DOF with T-Motor hips/knees, Maxon-grade upper body control, depth vision, and a NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano capable of running small VLMs. Carbon fiber frame saves 3 kg vs aluminum. This is the build that can actually do useful tasks — pick-and-place, teleoperated demos, small-scale VLA model testing.

Who it's for

Labs moving from entry experiments to capability demonstrations. Startups prototyping application-specific robots. Schools and makerspaces with a reasonable budget and experienced leads.

28 DOF, 170 cm, 8 kg payload
~2.5 hour runtime via LiFePO4 pack
Intel RealSense D435i depth vision
Learning curve: Moderate-to-steep. Assumes familiarity with ROS 2, Python control stacks, and some CAD modification. Multi-protocol bus wrangling (CAN + UART).
Build time: 4-8 months (part-time)
View Full BOM & Compile Check →
pro tier
COMPILES

Kit 03 (Pro)

The research platform. Zero-backlash from hip to fingertip.

BOM Cost
$61,652
DOF
32
Height
175 cm
Payload
15 kg
Runtime
4 hr
Mass
43.9 kg

32 DOF with Harmonic Drive precision actuators throughout the legs and knees, Nabtesco cycloidal waist, Maxon shoulders, Ouster OS0-32 LiDAR, ATI force/torque sensors at the wrists, and a full Jetson AGX Orin 64GB capable of running GR00T N1.5, Helix-class VLA models, and π0.5. Titanium Ti-6Al-4V frame. This is a research-grade platform that competes with commercial Apollo/Digit/Phoenix in capability per dollar.

Who it's for

University robotics labs, corporate R&D groups, and advanced independent researchers. Not a hobbyist build — assumes engineering team, safety protocols, and facility to match.

32 DOF, 175 cm, 15 kg payload
4 hour runtime with Victron 2.4 kWh pack
Harmonic Drive FHA-25C hips (zero-backlash, 108 Nm peak)
Learning curve: Expert. EtherCAT configuration, deterministic control loop tuning, foundation model deployment, and safety case development. Assumes a multi-person team.
Build time: 6-12 months (full-time team)
View Full BOM & Compile Check →

The Cobra Kit Philosophy

Cobra kit cars let enthusiasts build their own Shelby Cobra replicas in a garage, learning mechanical engineering by doing. They cost a fraction of an original, they're legal, insurable, and they create a community of builders who help each other when they hit problems.

HUMA kits do the same thing for humanoid robots. You buy the BOM, the frame design, the firmware, and the documentation. You build it in your lab or garage. We learn alongside you — publishing the entire build process, the failures, the fixes, and the performance benchmarks. The local LLM “brain” ships with the kit, and we open-source as much of the software stack as we can.

We've never built a humanoid ourselves. That's not a bug — it's the feature. We're learning in full public view, and that's worth more than a polished product from someone who pretends to have all the answers.

What “Compiles” Means

Electrical

Every actuator must match the battery bus voltage. Total peak power must fit within 1.5× the battery peak output (safety factor for non-simultaneous peaks).

Communication

Every actuator must speak a protocol the motor controller can bridge to the compute module. CAN, EtherCAT, RS485, and UART are all supported — but mixing requires a gateway.

Mechanical

Hip actuator torque must exceed (upper body mass + payload) × 9.81 × 0.35m lever arm. Knee must exceed 60% of hip. No safety margin = warning; below requirement = error.

Mass Budget

Sum of all component masses + wiring (2kg) must stay under the target weight class. Payload capacity = target mass − BOM mass. Negative = error.

Software

Compute module must meet the tier requirement: basic (1+ TOPS), mid (50+ TOPS for small VLMs), pro (200+ TOPS for Helix/GR00T/π0.5 class models).

Availability

Every part in the BOM must have a verified supplier URL. Live stock verification is V2 — for now we cite the supplier page and disclaim that you must verify before ordering.

Interested in a kit?

Leave your email and we’ll notify you when kits are available for order. No commitment, no spam.

Three disclaimers:(1) We have not yet built any of these kits ourselves — the compile check validates the BOM on paper, not in reality. V2 will include actual build results. (2) Availability URLs are current as of 2026-04-15. Live stock verification is V2. (3) The software stack (local LLM brain, vision pipeline, control software) is in active development. Expect a steep learning curve and incomplete documentation until we've built and shipped our first working kit in public view.