L1-GT is an open, wheeled-biped research platform, developed at UNSW.
The platform explores dynamically stable mobility using a two-wheeled base combined with articulated leg structures and a modular upper body. It is inspired by work on wheeled inverted-pendulum robots, in particular Fraunhofer IML’s evoBOT, and projects such as Upkie and Impulse.
The aim is to provide a practical, buildable system for studying embodied control, learning, and robustness under real-world physical constraints.
- hardware: initial design near complete (for v0.1)
- electronics: in development
- software and control: in development
This repository currently focuses on the mechanical design. Electronics, software, and control will be added as the project matures.
Many results in robot learning and control rely heavily on simulation fidelity or simplified dynamics. L1-GT is intended as a platform where modelling error, contact, balance, and sensing noise are unavoidable and measurable.
The design emphasises:
- physical embodiment as part of the control problem
- data-efficient learning in a (contact-rich) system, where stability and motion depend continuously on physical interaction with the environment
- simplicity and robustness
L1-GT is developed as research infrastructure. It is meant to be modified, rebuilt, and extended.
The platform supports research in areas including:
- whole-body balancing and locomotion under uncertainty
- hybrid control and learning approaches combining physical models and data
- morphology and mechanism design as control resources
- benchmarking classical control, optimisation-based methods, and learning-based approaches on identical hardware
- embodied intelligence questions where shape, actuation, and sensing materially affect what can be learned
The intent is to support both algorithmic work and studies that explicitly link mechanical design choices to control and learning outcomes.
The repository is organised by major components and overall project documentation. Each component has its own documentation, CAD, and bill of materials (click on the images).
Each hardware component directory typically contains:
- a short README describing the component
- CAD files and drawings
- a BOM with supplier references
- assembly and integration notes
- known issues and limitations
The main entry point is this README.
Detailed documentation lives alongside the design files in each subdirectory.
Different artefacts in this repository use different licences:
-
hardware design files (CAD, drawings, mechanical design):
CERN Open Hardware Licence v2.0 – Weakly Reciprocal (CERN-OHL-W) -
software:
Apache Licence 2.0 -
documentation and original images:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
See the LICENSES/ directory for full licence texts.
If you use L1-GT in academic work, please cite it.
A CITATION.cff file is provided to support standard citation workflows.
- Fraunhofer IML evoBOT ⧉
- Upkie ⧉ open-source wheeled biped robot
- Impulse ⧉ wheeled biped project
These projects influenced the design space explored here, but L1-GT makes its own mechanical and architectural trade-offs.
Contributions are welcome, but see CONTRIBUTING.md for details.
L1-GT is developed and built as a research platform at UNSW.