HopeJR

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Overview

HopeJR is an open-source full-size humanoid robot co-developed by HuggingFace and The Robot Studio. Officially announced on May 29, 2025¹, it aims to democratize humanoid robots with a groundbreaking price of approximately $3,000.

Item	Spec	Source
Development	HuggingFace + The Robot Studio	1
Designers	Rob Knight (The Robot Studio), Martino Russi (HuggingFace)	2
DoF	66 (66 independent degrees of freedom)	12
Structure	Primarily 3D printed plastic parts	2
Target Price	~$3,000 (estimated, may vary by tariffs and region)	1
Expected Release	Late 2025 ~ Early 2026 (at time of announcement)	1
License	Apache 2.0 (software)	2

Note: Price and release dates are as of May 2025 announcement and subject to change. Check the official GitHub repository for latest information.

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Key Significance

The emergence of HopeJR symbolizes the Democratization of humanoid robot research.

Price Comparison (as of May 2025)

Robot	Price	Notes	Source
HopeJR	~$3,000	Open-source DIY	1
Unitree G1	~$16,000	Commercial product	1
Tesla Optimus	$20,000+	Unconfirmed target price	1

Note: Above price information is based on TechCrunch reports. Actual retail prices may vary.

HopeJR targets significantly lower prices than existing commercial humanoid robots, providing an environment where university labs, startups, and individual developers can all experiment with full-size humanoids.

Research Ecosystem Expansion

• VLA Data Collection: Large-scale dataset sharing through HuggingFace Hub
• Model Training: End-to-end learning pipeline through LeRobot
• Reproducible Research: Anyone can experiment with identical hardware

“Open-source robots that anyone can assemble, reconfigure, and understand are important so that robotics isn’t dominated by dangerous black-box systems from a few large corporations.” — Clem Delangue, HuggingFace CEO¹

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Open-Source Philosophy

HopeJR was designed as a fully open-source project².

Disclosure Scope

Component	Public	Description
Hardware Design	O	CAD files, BOM (Bill of Materials)
3D Print Files	O	STL files provided
URDF Model	O	Robot model for simulation
Software	O	Apache 2.0 license
Firmware	O	Including custom PCB

Design Philosophy

1. DIY Assembly: Custom PCB design that can be assembled without soldering²
2. Low-cost Parts: 3D printable plastic structure
3. Modular Design: Easy part replacement and repair
4. AI Calibration: Compensate for low-cost hardware “elasticity” with AI

“Low-cost hardware is inherently less robust and ‘bouncy’, but we can compensate for this by leveraging AI software performance improvements. This can be safer for interaction with humans.” — The Robot Studio²

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Key Features

Dexterous Hands

• Multiple underactuated DoF per finger
• Precision grasping support
• Improved finger design for various object manipulation²

Walking Ability

• Bipedal walking
• Natural movement utilizing 66 DoF¹

Teleoperation

• Sensor Gloves: Hand motion tracking with 1:1 joint mapping³
• Exoskeleton: Arm motion control exoskeleton³
• Diametric Hall Encoder: Precise angle measurement for each joint³
• Project Homunculus-based teleop kit³

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LeRobot Integration

HopeJR integrates with HuggingFace’s LeRobot platform³.

Important: Commands and settings below are based on LeRobot official documentation. May change with version updates, so check the LeRobot HopeJR official documentation for latest information.

Installation (as of May 2025 documentation)

Clone the LeRobot repository and install with HopeJR dependencies:

# 1. Clone LeRobot repository
git clone https://github.com/huggingface/lerobot.git
cd lerobot

# 2. Create virtual environment (recommended)
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# 3. Install with HopeJR dependencies
pip install -e ".[hopejr]"

Supported Features³

Feature	Command	Description
Find Port	lerobot-find-port	USB device port search
Calibration	lerobot-calibrate	Hands, arms, gloves, exoskeleton calibration
Teleoperation	lerobot-teleoperate	Real-time remote control
Data Recording	lerobot-record	Demo data collection
Replay	lerobot-replay	Recorded episode playback
Training	lerobot-train	Policy training (ACT, etc.)

Workflow

[Teleoperation] -> [Data Recording] -> [HuggingFace Hub Upload]
                                         |
                                         v
[Robot Inference] <- [Policy Training] <- [Dataset Download]

Calibration Structure³

Hand Calibration:

• Thumb: CMC, MCP, PIP, DIP
• Index~Pinky: Radial flexor, Ulnar flexor, PIP/DIP

Arm Calibration:

• Shoulder: pitch, yaw, roll
• Elbow: flex
• Wrist: pitch, yaw, roll

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Teleoperation System

Sensor Gloves (Homunculus Glove)

The sensor gloves are equipped with Diametric Hall Encoders at each finger joint for precise angle measurement³.

# Glove calibration example (check port with lerobot-find-port)
lerobot-calibrate \
    --teleop.type=homunculus_glove \
    --teleop.port=/dev/tty.usbmodemXXXXX \
    --teleop.id=red \
    --teleop.side=right

Exoskeleton (Homunculus Arm)

Arm control exoskeleton that maps 7 DoF (shoulder 3 + elbow 1 + wrist 3) movements 1:1³.

# Exoskeleton calibration example (check port with lerobot-find-port)
lerobot-calibrate \
    --teleop.type=homunculus_arm \
    --teleop.port=/dev/tty.usbmodemXXXXX \
    --teleop.id=black

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Timeline

Date	Event	Source
2024	LeRobot platform launched	4
April 2025	HuggingFace acquires Pollen Robotics	4
May 29, 2025	HopeJR official announcement	1
Late 2025 (target)	First unit shipment expected	1
Early 2026 (target)	Full-scale delivery expected	1

Note: Shipment schedule is the target at time of announcement; check official website for latest information.

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Related Products

Reachy Mini

Desktop robot announced alongside by HuggingFace, expected to release at $250~$300 (may vary by tariffs)¹. Can be used for head movement, voice recognition, and AI test platform.

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See Also

• Hardware List
• LeRobot Arms
• Reachy
• SmolVLA

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References

Additional Materials

• Analytics Insight: Meet HopeJR
• IOT World Today: Hugging Face Unveils $3,000 Humanoid Robot

Footnotes

1. TechCrunch, “Hugging Face unveils two new humanoid robots” (2025-05-29) - https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/29/hugging-face-unveils-two-new-humanoid-robots/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

2. GitHub, “TheRobotStudio/HOPEJr” - https://github.com/TheRobotStudio/HOPEJr ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

3. HuggingFace, “LeRobot HopeJR Documentation” - https://huggingface.co/docs/lerobot/en/hope_jr ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

4. HuggingFace Blog, “Pollen Robotics Acquisition” - https://huggingface.co/blog/hugging-face-pollen-robotics-acquisition ↩ ↩²