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Build Stanford Pupper v3, a ~$1,000 RL-walking quadruped: media published by stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped
Demo video on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Credit: stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped
Build Stanford Pupper v3, a ~$1,000 RL-walking quadruped: media published by stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped (image 2)
Build Stanford Pupper v3, a ~$1,000 RL-walking quadruped: media published by stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped (image 3)
Build Stanford Pupper v3, a ~$1,000 RL-walking quadruped: media published by stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped (image 4)

Build Stanford Pupper v3, a ~$1,000 RL-walking quadruped

Quad, Hard, $1,000

Stanford Robotics Club's Pupper v3 uses 400 W brushless motors, a Raspberry Pi 5, a depth camera and an RL locomotion policy out of the box, with a roughly $1,000 BOM.

Cost $1,000: Pupper v3 README BOM.

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The original Pupper v1 repo is end-of-life and points to v3, which is fully open source. It's a serious but affordable research-grade dog.

Hardware & cost: GIM4305 brushless motors, Raspberry Pi 5, Luxonis depth camera. About $1,000 BOM per the README.

Difficulty: Hard.

Agent install prompt (paste into Claude Code, Cursor or Codex): "Read https://github.com/stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped and find the Pupper v3 build docs it links to, then make me a parts checklist and the software setup steps for the Pi 5."

Source: stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped on GitHub — https://github.com/stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped (facts checked against the project README, Oct 2026; prices vary by region).

Quick answers

How much does it cost to build Stanford Pupper v3?
About $1,000, per the Pupper v3 README BOM.
What do you need to build Stanford Pupper v3?
GIM4305 brushless motors, Raspberry Pi 5, Luxonis depth camera. About $1,000 BOM per the README.
How hard is it to build Stanford Pupper v3?
Hard.

Ideas to try with it

Our ideas, not the builder's claims.

  1. Walk it around the office using the policy it ships with
  2. Use the depth camera to follow a person down a hallway
  3. Train a new gait in simulation and compare it on carpet and tile
1 more idea
  1. Bring it to a classroom to teach legged robotics
Source
stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped on GitHub
Last commit
2024-10-24
Builder
stanfordroboticsclub
Repo
stanfordroboticsclub/StanfordQuadruped, 1,829 stars
Built with
Stanford Pupper

What to build next

Builds that share a board, robot or agent with this one.