Unitree G1
Bipedal humanoid robot by Unitree Robotics, designed as a compact research, development, and developer platform.
Applications
- Research
- Home Assistance
Active Open source Real-time capable API available ROS
CATEGORYControl · SDKs
READINESSTRL 9
ADOPTION SCALEGrowing Community
LICENSESBSD-3-Clause
FIRST RELEASE2023
UnitreeSDKRoboticsROS 2DDSCycloneDDSPythonC++Simulation
Unitree SDK2 (unitree_sdk2) is the official second-generation SDK provided by Unitree Robotics for the entire current robot line: Go2 (quadruped), B2 (industrial quadruped), H1 (humanoid), G1 (humanoid). The SDK architecture is built on CycloneDDS as the transport layer, with a clear split into topics (`rt/lowstate`, `rt/lowcmd`, `rt/wirelesscontroller`) and services.
The SDK enables low-level control (joint torque, joint angle commands, IMU readout, foot force) and high-level control (sport_client API: walk, jump, stand, sit). Built-in examples cover RL policy training (sim2real), Whole Body Control (WBC), and communication with Unitree apps (phone, gamepad).
The github.com/unitreerobotics/unitree_sdk2 repository provides open-source code under BSD-3. A 1 Gbps Ethernet card is required to connect to the robot (cable or WiFi through a router). The SDK has been actively developed since 2023 and is the foundation for the ROS 2 stack (unitree_ros2) and wrappers to MuJoCo, Isaac Lab, and Isaac Sim.
Type & Roles
Software types
SDK
An SDK (Software Development Kit) is a curated set of libraries, interfaces, tools, sample code, and documentation intended for building applications and integrating with a specific hardware device, platform, or service. In robotics, an SDK typically exposes device control, telemetry, sensor access, configuration, and execution functions, significantly reducing the time-to-first-integration for developers targeting a specific robot or platform.
API Library
An API Library is a software package that exposes programmatic interfaces for communicating with a device, service, or system. In robotics it typically forms a lightweight integration layer built on top of the manufacturer's official API or an open-source project, abstracting low-level protocol details and providing language-native bindings (Python, C++, Java, etc.).
Control Stack
A Control Stack is the set of software components responsible for control logic, motion planning, command execution, and coordination of a robot's actuators. It receives high-level goals or waypoints (from planning or AI layers) and translates them into low-level actuator commands, closed-loop feedback control, and safety checks. Common implementations include MoveIt (arm manipulation), Nav2 (mobile navigation), and custom whole-body control stacks for humanoids.
Select an item to see its description.
Main category
SDKsControl & PlanningDrivers & Firmware
Roles in robotics ecosystem
Robot ControlDevice IntegrationAPI Access
Software family
Family
Unitree SDK2
Maturity & Adoption
9 / 9
Proven in operational conditions
ResearchPrototypeProduction
Adoption scaleGrowing Community
Maintenance statusMaintained by Single Vendor
First release2023
Last update22 April 2025
Deployments
Unitree Go2 Edu/Pro/Air, Unitree B2/B2-W, Unitree H1 (Stanford HumanPlus benchmark), Unitree G1 (the most popular humanoid in R&D 2025).
Community
1.1k★ on GitHub unitreerobotics/unitree_sdk2, official Unitree Discord with 8k+ members, 200+ research forks.
Organizations
Related robotics software
UP
Unitree Python SDK2
Python wrapper for Unitree SDK2 (unitree_sdk2_python). Enables controlling Unitree Go2, B2, H1, G1 from Python. Recommended for prototyping, RL training and integration with PyTorch/JAX.
U(
UnifoLM (Unitree Foundational Model)
Unitree's foundation model combining Vision-Language-Action (VLA) for the H1 and G1 humanoids. Trained on RGB+depth+joint data from 100+ humanoids and Isaac Lab simulation. Inference on onboard NVIDIA Jetson Orin.
EC
Eclipse Cyclone DDS
A lean, open-source implementation of the OMG DDS standard, developed under the Eclipse Foundation. An alternative RMW in ROS 2 and the de facto default in many distributions. Used in autonomous systems and peer-to-peer communications.
R2
ROS 2 Humble Hawksbill
LTS release of the ROS 2 framework based on Ubuntu 22.04, supported through May 2027. The most widely deployed release in humanoids, AMRs, and research platforms. Full integration with Nav2, MoveIt 2 and ros2_control.
Supported robot models
Unitree H1
Unitree H1 is a full-size general-purpose humanoid robot (~180 cm, ~47 kg). Bipedal, 5 DOF per leg + 4 DOF per arm, 3.3 m/s walking speed, 360° perception via 3D LiDAR + depth camera, Unitree M107 PMSM joint motors with ~360 N·m peak knee torque. Standard compute: Intel Core i5/i7; optional NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX.
Applications
- Research
Target robotic platforms
Humanoid
Quadruped
ROS supportCompatibility with ROS / ROS 2 ecosystem
Official Vendor ROS 2 WrapperOficjalny wrapper ROS 2 tworzony i utrzymywany przez producenta sprzętu lub oprogramowania
System capabilities
⊙
Open source
Source code is publicly available under an open-source license — enables security audits, custom modifications, and integration without licensing barriers.
✓
⚡
Real-time capable
Designed with timing-determinism guarantees — meets the requirements of control loops, safety systems, and tasks demanding low, predictable latency.
✓
⟨/⟩
API available
The software exposes a programmable interface (REST, gRPC, SDK, or language bindings) that enables automation and integration with other systems.
✓
📦
Pre-built / binary
Distributed as ready-to-use binary packages, container images, or installers — no need to build from source.
×
Programming languages
C++
Operating systems
Ubuntu 22.04Ubuntu 20.04JetPack Linux
Minimum hardware requirements
Minimum hardware requirements
CPUDual-core x86-64 or ARM64 (Jetson Orin Nano is sufficient)
RAM (GB)2
GPUNot required
Disk (GB)1
Requires a 1 Gbps Ethernet card. Cyclone DDS and Boost ≥ 1.71 as dependencies.
Packaging & distribution
Package managers
GitHub Releases / GitHub Actions ArtifactsSource – CMake / ament_cmakeDocker / Docker Hub
CPU architectures
x86_64 (AMD64)ARM64 / AArch64NVIDIA Jetson – AArch64 (JetPack)
Installation difficulty
LevelModerate
Protocols and interfaces
Communication protocols
CycloneDDSDDS (Data Distribution Service)Ethernet / TCP-IP
Hardware interfaces
Ethernet 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet)
Latency classes
Hard Real-Time (1–5 ms)Hard Real-Time (< 1 ms)
Deployment types
On RobotEdgeLocal Workstation
Supported simulators
MuJoCo
MuJoCo Menagerie
NVIDIA Isaac Sim
NVIDIA Isaac Lab
Genesis (generative physics simulator)
Official Docker images
unitreerobotics/unitree_ros2
Licenses
BSD-3-ClauseBSD 3-Clause Licensev3-Clause
License family: Permissive
ModificationDistributionCommercial useSublicensingPrivate useROS-compatibleOSI approvedFSF Free/LibreRequires attribution
Version history
2.5.0Apr 2025
WBC API, sport_client improvements, RL policy bindings.
2.0.0Sept 2024
Full rewrite on CycloneDDS, G1 support.
1.5.0Apr 2024
Unitree H1 humanoid support.
1.0.0Sept 2023
First release for Go2.