robot_descriptions 1.22.0

Import open source robot description as Python modules.

Robot descriptions in Python

Import open source robot descriptions as Python modules.

Importing a description for the first time automatically downloads and caches files for future imports. Most Awesome Robot Descriptions are available. All of them load successfully in respectively MuJoCo (MJCF) or Pinocchio, iDynTree, PyBullet and yourdfpy (URDF).

Installation

From conda-forge

conda install -c conda-forge robot_descriptions

From PyPI

pip install robot_descriptions

Usage

The library provides load_robot_description functions that return an instance of a robot description directly usable in the corresponding software. For example:

from robot_descriptions.loaders.pinocchio import load_robot_description

robot = load_robot_description("upkie_description")

Loaders are implemented for the following robotics software:

Software	Loader
iDynTree	robot_descriptions.loaders.idyntree
MuJoCo	robot_descriptions.loaders.mujoco
Pinocchio	robot_descriptions.loaders.pinocchio
PyBullet	robot_descriptions.loaders.pybullet
RoboMeshCat	robot_descriptions.loaders.robomeshcat
yourdfpy	robot_descriptions.loaders.yourdfpy

Loading will automatically download the robot description if needed, and cache it to a local directory.

Command line

You can use uv to manipulate robot descriptions directly from the command line:

uvx robot_descriptions pull iiwa14_description          # download the robot description to cache
uvx robot_descriptions show_in_meshcat go2_description  # display the robot description

Try uvx robot_descriptions -h to see the list of available commands. Alternatively, once the package is installed from PyPI or conda-forge, you can call the robot_descriptions alias directly from the command line, or replace uvx by uv run, or python -m robot_descriptions (old school).

Import as submodule

You can also import a robot description directly as a submodule of robot_descriptions:

from robot_descriptions import my_robot_description

The import will automatically download the robot description if you don't have it already, and cache it to a local directory. The submodule then provides the following paths:

URDF_PATH / MJCF_PATH

Path to the main URDF/MJCF file of the robot description.

PACKAGE_PATH

Path to the root of the robot description package.

REPOSITORY_PATH

Path to the working directory of the git repository hosting the robot description.

Some robot descriptions include additional fields. For instance, the iiwa14_description exports URDF_PATH_POLYTOPE_COLLISION with more detailed collision meshes.

Examples

Loading a robot description:

• iDynTree
• MuJoCo
• Pinocchio
• PyBullet
• RoboMeshCat
• yourdfpy

Visualizing a robot description:

• MeshCat
• MuJoCo
• PyBullet
• RoboMeshCat
• yourdfpy

Descriptions

Available robot descriptions (gallery) are listed in the following categories:

• Arms
• Bipeds
• Dual arms
• Drones
• Educational
• End effectors
• Humanoids
• Mobile manipulators
• Quadrupeds
• Wheeled

The DOF column denotes the number of actuated degrees of freedom.

Arms

Name	Robot	Maker	Format	License
arx_l5_mj_description	L5	ARX	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
edo_description	e.DO	Comau	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
fanuc_m710ic_description	M-710iC	Fanuc	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
fr3_mj_description	FR3	Franka Robotics	MJCF	Apache-2.0
fr3_v2_mj_description	FR3 v2	Franka Robotics	MJCF	Apache-2.0
gen2_description	Gen2	Kinova	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
gen3_description	Gen3	Kinova	URDF	MIT
gen3_lite_description	Gen3 Lite	Kinova	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
gen3_mj_description	Gen3	Kinova	MJCF	BSD-2-Clause
iiwa14_description	iiwa 14	KUKA	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
iiwa14_mj_description	iiwa 14	KUKA	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
iiwa7_description	iiwa 7	KUKA	URDF	MIT
low_cost_robot_arm_mj_description	Low-cost robot arm	Alexander Koch	MJCF	Apache-2.0
panda_description	Panda	Franka Robotics	URDF	Apache-2.0
panda_mj_description	Panda	Franka Robotics	MJCF	Apache-2.0
piper_description	PiPER	AgileX	URDF	MIT
piper_mj_description	PiPER	AgileX	MJCF	MIT
poppy_ergo_jr_description	Poppy Ergo Jr	Poppy Project	URDF	GPL-3.0
sawyer_mj_description	Sawyer	Rethink Robotics	MJCF	Apache-2.0
so_arm100_description	SO-ARM100	The Robot Studio	URDF	Apache-2.0
so_arm100_mj_description	SO-ARM100	The Robot Studio	MJCF	Apache-2.0
so_arm101_description	SO-ARM101	The Robot Studio	URDF	Apache-2.0
so_arm101_mj_description	SO-ARM101	The Robot Studio	MJCF	Apache-2.0
ur10_description	UR10	Universal Robots	URDF	Apache-2.0
ur10e_mj_description	UR10e	Universal Robots	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
ur3_description	UR3	Universal Robots	URDF	Apache-2.0
ur5_description	UR5	Universal Robots	URDF	Apache-2.0
ur5e_mj_description	UR5e	Universal Robots	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
viper_mj_description	ViperX	Trossen Robotics	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
widow_mj_description	WidowX	Trossen Robotics	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
xarm7_mj_description	xArm7	UFACTORY	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
yam_description	YAM	I2RT Robotics	URDF	MIT
yam_mj_description	YAM	I2RT Robotics	MJCF	MIT
z1_description	Z1	UNITREE Robotics	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
z1_mj_description	Z1	UNITREE Robotics	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause

Bipeds

Name	Robot	Maker	DOF	Format
bolt_description	Bolt	ODRI	6	URDF
cassie_description	Cassie	Agility Robotics	16	URDF
cassie_mj_description	Cassie	Agility Robotics	16	MJCF
rhea_description	Rhea	Gabrael Levine	7	URDF
spryped_description	Spryped	Benjamin Bokser	8	URDF
upkie_description	Upkie	Tast's Robots	6	URDF

Dual arms

Name	Robot	Maker	DOF	Format
aloha_mj_description	Aloha 2	Trossen Robotics	14	MJCF
baxter_description	Baxter	Rethink Robotics	15	URDF
nextage_description	NEXTAGE	Kawada Robotics	15	URDF
poppy_torso_description	Poppy Torso	Poppy Project	13	URDF
yumi_description	YuMi	ABB	16	URDF

Drones

Name	Robot	Maker	DOF	Format
cf2_description	Crazyflie 2.0	Bitcraze	0	URDF
cf2_mj_description	Crazyflie 2.0	Bitcraze	6	MJCF
skydio_x2_description	Skydio X2	Skydio	6	URDF
skydio_x2_mj_description	Skydio X2	Skydio	6	MJCF

Educational

Name	Robot	DOF	Format	License
double_pendulum_description	Double Pendulum	2	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
dynamixel_2r_mj_description	Dynamixel 2R	2	MJCF	MIT
finger_edu_description	FingerEdu	3	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
mujoco_humanoid_mj_description	MuJoCo Humanoid	27	MJCF	Apache-2.0
simple_humanoid_description	Simple Humanoid	29	URDF	BSD-2-Clause
trifinger_edu_description	TriFingerEdu	9	URDF	MIT

End effectors

Name	Robot	Maker	Format	License
ability_hand_description	Ability Hand	PSYONIC, Inc.	URDF	MIT
ability_hand_mj_description	Ability Hand	PSYONIC, Inc.	MJCF	MIT
aero_hand_open_description	Aero Hand Open	TetherIA	URDF	Apache-2.0
aero_hand_open_mj_description	Aero Hand Open	TetherIA	MJCF	Apache-2.0
allegro_hand_description	Allegro Hand	Wonik Robotics	URDF	BSD
allegro_hand_mj_description	Allegro Hand	Wonik Robotics	MJCF	BSD-2-Clause
barrett_hand_description	BarrettHand	Barrett Technology	URDF	BSD
leap_hand_v1_description	LEAP Hand v1	Carnegie Mellon University	URDF	MIT
leap_hand_mj_description	LEAP Hand	Carnegie Mellon University	MJCF	MIT
robotiq_2f85_description	Robotiq 2F-85	Robotiq	URDF	BSD-2-Clause
robotiq_2f85_mj_description	Robotiq 2F-85	Robotiq	MJCF	BSD-2-Clause
robotiq_2f85_v4_mj_description	Robotiq 2F-85	Robotiq	MJCF	BSD-2-Clause
shadow_dexee_mj_description	Shadow DEX-EE	The Shadow Robot Company	MJCF	Apache-2.0
shadow_hand_mj_description	Shadow Hand	The Shadow Robot Company	MJCF	Apache-2.0

Humanoids

Name	Robot	Maker	Format	License
apollo_mj_description	Apollo	Apptronik	MJCF	Apache-2.0
adam_lite_mj_description	Adam Lite	PNDBotics	MJCF	MIT
atlas_drc_description	Atlas DRC (v3)	Boston Dynamics	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
atlas_v4_description	Atlas v4	Boston Dynamics	URDF	MIT
berkeley_humanoid_description	Berkeley Humanoid	Hybrid Robotics	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
booster_t1_description	Booster T1	Booster Robotics	URDF	Apache-2.0
booster_t1_mj_description	Booster T1	Booster Robotics	MJCF	Apache-2.0
draco3_description	Draco3	Apptronik	URDF	BSD-2-Clause
elf2_description	Elf2	BXI Robotics	URDF	Apache-2.0
elf2_mj_description	Elf2	BXI Robotics	MJCF	Apache-2.0
ergocub_description	ergoCub	IIT	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
g1_description	G1	UNITREE Robotics	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
g1_mj_description	G1	UNITREE Robotics	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
gr1_description	GR-1	Fourier	URDF	GPL-3.0
h1_description	H1	UNITREE Robotics	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
h1_mj_description	H1	UNITREE Robotics	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
h1_2_description	H1_2	UNITREE Robotics	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
h1_2_mj_description	H1_2	UNITREE Robotics	MJCF	BSD-3-Clause
icub_description	iCub	IIT	URDF	CC-BY-SA-4.0 ✖️
jaxon_description	JAXON	JSK	URDF	CC-BY-SA-4.0 ✖️
jvrc_description	JVRC-1	AIST	URDF	BSD-2-Clause
jvrc_mj_description	JVRC-1	AIST	MJCF	BSD-2-Clause
n1_description	N1	Fourier	URDF	Apache-2.0
n1_mj_description	N1	Fourier	MJCF	Apache-2.0
op3_mj_description	OP3	ROBOTIS	MJCF	Apache-2.0
r2_description	Robonaut 2	NASA JSC Robotics	URDF	NASA-1.3
romeo_description	Romeo	Aldebaran Robotics	URDF	BSD-3-Clause
sigmaban_description	SigmaBan	Rhoban	URDF	MIT
talos_description	TALOS	PAL Robotics	URDF	Apache-2.0
talos_mj_description	TALOS	PAL Robotics	MJCF	Apache-2.0
toddlerbot_description	ToddlerBot	Stanford University	URDF	MIT
toddlerbot_2xc_mj_description	ToddlerBot 2XC	Stanford University	URDF	MIT
toddlerbot_2xm_mj_description	ToddlerBot 2XM	Stanford University	URDF	MIT
valkyrie_description	Valkyrie	NASA JSC Robotics	URDF	NASA-1.3

Mobile manipulators

Name	Robot	Maker	Format	License
bambot_description	BamBot	Tim Qian	URDF	Apache-2.0
eve_r3_description	Eve R3	Halodi	URDF	Apache-2.0
fetch_description	Fetch	Fetch Robotics	URDF	MIT
ginger_description	Ginger	Paaila Technology	URDF	BSD
pepper_description	Pepper	SoftBank Robotics	URDF	BSD-2-Clause
pr2_description	PR2	Willow Garage	URDF	BSD
rby1_description	RBY1	Rainbow Robotics	URDF	MIT
reachy_description	Reachy	Pollen Robotics	URDF	Apache-2.0
stretch_description	Stretch RE1	Hello Robot	URDF	CC-BY-SA-4.0 ✖️
sretch_mj_description	Stretch 2	Hello Robot	MJCF	Clear BSD
sretch_3_mj_description	Stretch 3	Hello Robot	MJCF	Apache-2.0
tiago_description	TIAGo	PAL Robotics	URDF	Apache-2.0
tiago++_mj_description	TIAGo++	PAL Robotics	MJCF	Apache-2.0
rby1_description	RBY1	Rainbow Robotics	URDF	MIT

Quadrupeds

Name	Robot	Maker	DOF	Format
a1_description	A1	UNITREE Robotics	12	URDF
a1_mj_description	A1	UNITREE Robotics	12	MJCF
aliengo_description	Aliengo	UNITREE Robotics	12	URDF
aliengo_mj_description	Aliengo	UNITREE Robotics	12	MJCF
anymal_b_description	ANYmal B	ANYbotics	12	URDF
anymal_b_mj_description	ANYmal B	ANYbotics	12	MJCF
anymal_c_description	ANYmal C	ANYbotics	12	URDF
anymal_c_mj_description	ANYmal C	ANYbotics	12	MJCF
anymal_d_description	ANYmal D	ANYbotics	12	URDF
b1_description	B1	UNITREE Robotics	12	URDF
b2_description	B2	UNITREE Robotics	12	URDF
go1_description	Go1	UNITREE Robotics	12	URDF
go1_mj_description	Go1	UNITREE Robotics	12	MJCF
go2_description	Go2	UNITREE Robotics	12	URDF
go2_mj_description	Go2	UNITREE Robotics	12	MJCF
hyq_description	HyQ	IIT	12	URDF
laikago_description	Laikago	UNITREE Robotics	12	MJCF, URDF
mini_cheetah_description	Mini Cheetah	MIT	12	URDF
minitaur_description	Minitaur	Ghost Robotics	16	URDF
solo_description	Solo	ODRI	12	URDF
spot_mj_description	Spot	Boston Dynamics	12	MJCF

Wheeled

Name	Robot	Maker	Format	License
rsk_description	RSK Omnidirectional	Robot Soccer Kit	URDF	MIT
rsk_mj_description	RSK Omnidirectional	Robot Soccer Kit	MJCF	MIT
upkie_description	Upkie	Stéphane Caron	URDF	Apache-2.0
wl_p311d_description	WL P311D	LimX Dynamics	URDF	Apache-2.0
wl_p311e_description	WL P311E	LimX Dynamics	URDF	Apache-2.0

Contributing

New robot descriptions are welcome! Check out the guidelines then open a PR.

Thanks

Thanks to the maintainers of all the git repositories that made these robot descriptions available.

Citation

If you use this project in your works, please cite as follows:

@software{robot_descriptions_py,
  title = {{robot_descriptions.py: Robot descriptions in Python}},
  author = {Caron, Stéphane and Romualdi, Giulio and Kozlov, Lev and Ordoñez Apraez, Daniel Felipe and Tadashi Kussaba, Hugo and Bang, Seung Hyeon and Zakka, Kevin and Schramm, Fabian and Uru\c{c}, Jafar and Traversaro, Silvio and Zamora, Jonathan and Castro, Sebastian and Tao, Haixuan Xavier and Yu, Justin and Jallet, Wilson and Zhang, Yutong},
  license = {Apache-2.0},
  url = {https://github.com/robot-descriptions/robot_descriptions.py},
  version = {1.22.0},
  year = {2025}
}

Don't forget to add yourself to the BibTeX above and to CITATION.cff if you contribute to this repository.

See also

• Awesome Robot Descriptions: curated list of robot descriptions in URDF, Xacro or MJCF formats.
• drake_models: collection of URDF and SDF descriptions curated for the Drake framework.
• MuJoCo Menagerie: collection of MJCF robot descriptions curated for the MuJoCo physics engine.
• robot_descriptions.cpp: package to use robot_descriptions.py in C++.