Frequently Asked Questions

1. What hardware does SVRC sell?

SVRC sells and leases robot hardware including: OpenArm 101 ($4,500, 6-DOF arm with 500g payload), DK1 Bimanual System ($12,000, dual 6-DOF arms for bimanual manipulation), Unitree G1 Humanoid ($16,000, 23+ DOF full-body humanoid), Unitree Go2 Quadruped ($2,800, 12-DOF walking robot), Paxini Gen3 Tactile Sensor (contact for pricing), and Orca Hand (16-DOF dexterous hand). All hardware ships with ROS2 drivers, complete documentation, and 12-month warranty.

2. What is the OpenArm 101 and why is it popular?

The OpenArm 101 is a 6-DOF robotic arm designed for research and education. At $4,500, it is the most affordable ROS2-native research arm available — about 1/4 the cost of a Franka Panda ($20K+). It is fully open-source (hardware CAD, firmware, ROS2 drivers), goes from unboxing to first teleoperation in under 4 hours, and produces research-grade data compatible with LeRobot, HDF5, and Open X-Embodiment formats. It is used by research labs at Stanford, MIT, CMU, and hundreds of universities worldwide.

3. How does the DK1 compare to ALOHA?

The DK1 Bimanual System ($12,000) provides two coordinated 6-DOF arms for bimanual manipulation research. Like ALOHA, it supports teleoperation-based data collection for bimanual tasks. DK1 is designed to be more compact (fits on a standard lab bench), has lower latency teleoperation, and integrates natively with the SVRC Data Platform for episode management and training. Both produce data suitable for ACT and bimanual diffusion policy training.

4. What warranty comes with purchased hardware?

All purchased hardware includes a 12-month warranty covering manufacturing defects and component failures under normal operating conditions. This covers servo motors, control boards, cables, and mechanical components. It does not cover damage from misuse, unauthorized modifications, or environmental exposure beyond specified operating conditions. Extended 24-month warranty is available for 15% of purchase price. Lease customers get full maintenance and repair coverage included in the monthly fee.

5. Can I customize SVRC hardware?

Yes, depending on the platform. OpenArm 101 is fully open-source — you can modify firmware, add sensors, change end-effectors, and even modify the mechanical design. We publish the complete CAD files. DK1 supports custom gripper mounts, camera configurations, and sensor packages. For Unitree platforms (G1, Go2), customization is limited to software, payload mounting, and sensor attachments. Contact us before modifying hardware if you want to maintain warranty coverage.

6. Which robot should I buy for imitation learning research?

For single-arm manipulation research: OpenArm 101 ($4,500). It produces the same quality teleoperation data used in published imitation learning papers and costs 1/4 of a Franka. For bimanual research: DK1 ($12,000). For mobile manipulation: Unitree Go2 ($2,800) with a mounted arm. For contact-rich manipulation with tactile sensing: OpenArm 101 + Paxini Gen3. See the buying guide for a detailed comparison.

7. Do SVRC robots work with ROS2?

Yes. OpenArm 101 and DK1 are ROS2-native — they publish standard message types for joint states, control commands, and camera feeds. Unitree G1 and Go2 have ROS2 driver packages maintained by SVRC. All platforms work with ROS2 Humble (LTS). The SDK Quickstart guide covers ROS2 integration in under 30 minutes for any platform.

8. What cameras work with SVRC hardware?

SVRC hardware is camera-agnostic — any USB or network camera works with ROS2. We recommend and test with Intel RealSense D435i (RGB-D) and Logitech C920 (RGB). The DK1 includes built-in wrist cameras. Camera calibration tools and hand-eye calibration scripts are included in the Developer Wiki. For multi-camera setups, we provide synchronization tools that maintain under 10ms frame alignment.

9. How long does shipping take?

In-stock items ship within 2-3 business days from Mountain View, CA. Same-day pickup is available at both our Mountain View (1117 Independence Ave) and Allston, MA (125 Western Ave) locations. US domestic shipping: 5-7 business days. International shipping: 7-14 business days depending on destination and customs. We provide tracking numbers and customs documentation for all shipments.

10. Do you sell replacement parts?

Yes. We stock replacement servos, cables, gripper assemblies, and control boards for all SVRC-sold platforms. Servo replacement for OpenArm 101 takes under 30 minutes with our step-by-step guide. Parts can be ordered via email (contact@roboticscenter.ai) and typically ship within 1-2 business days. For Unitree platforms, we coordinate with Unitree for replacement parts.

1. What data collection services does SVRC offer?

SVRC provides teleoperation-based robot data collection for imitation learning and RL. We collect demonstrations on your hardware or ours, with trained operators, standardized protocols, and quality assurance. Deliverables include demonstration datasets in standard formats (HDF5, LeRobot, RLDS), a dataset card documenting collection parameters, and quality metrics. Pricing starts at $2,500 for a pilot dataset (100-200 demonstrations) and $8,000 for a full campaign (500-1,000 demonstrations). See Data Services for details.

2. What data formats do you deliver?

We deliver data in three standard formats: HDF5 (our default, with documented schema), LeRobot format (compatible with the Hugging Face LeRobot library), and RLDS (for Google RT-X and Open X-Embodiment compatibility). Custom formats are available for enterprise customers. Each dataset includes synchronized joint states, camera feeds (RGB and/or RGB-D), gripper commands, and success/failure labels per episode.

3. How long does a data campaign take?

A pilot dataset (100-200 demonstrations) takes 2-3 weeks from kickoff to delivery. A full campaign (500-1,000 demonstrations) takes 4-6 weeks. This includes task specification, environment setup, data collection, quality assurance, and delivery. Timelines can be compressed for urgent projects — contact us to discuss expedited options. See the approach page for the detailed 6-step process.

4. Who collects the data?

SVRC employs trained teleoperation operators who complete a certification program: 100+ hours of teleoperation across multiple platforms and task types. We track per-operator metrics (success rate, trajectory smoothness, completion time) and assign operators based on task type and platform experience. Inter-operator consistency is verified during quality assurance.

5. Who owns the collected data?

You do. All data collected during an SVRC engagement is owned by the client. SVRC retains no copies unless explicitly agreed for ongoing improvement purposes (e.g., continuous data collection contracts). IP ownership is clearly defined in the engagement contract and signed before work begins.

6. What quality checks do you perform?

Every demonstration passes automated QA: trajectory smoothness checks (no jerky or discontinuous motion), camera synchronization verification (within 10ms across views), joint limit compliance, and success condition validation. We also perform inter-operator consistency analysis and remove statistical outliers. Typical acceptance rate is 85-92% of raw collected demonstrations. Rejected demonstrations are documented with reasons.

7. Can you collect data on our hardware?

Yes. SVRC Data Services can work with most ROS2-compatible platforms. We have experience with UR, Franka, Kinova, Flexiv, ALOHA, and all SVRC-sold hardware. We can collect data at your facility or ship your hardware to ours. For proprietary platforms without ROS2, contact us to discuss integration feasibility.

8. How much data do I need?

It depends on task complexity and model architecture. General guidelines: simple pick-and-place: 50-200 demonstrations. Multi-step assembly: 200-500 demonstrations. Contact-rich or high-precision tasks: 500-1,000+ demonstrations. If you are fine-tuning a pre-trained model (OpenVLA, Octo), you may need 50-200 demonstrations. If training from scratch, plan for 500+. We can help you estimate based on your specific task. See our research articles for data efficiency analysis.

1. What robots can I lease?

All SVRC hardware is available for leasing: OpenArm 101 ($800/mo), DK1 Bimanual ($1,500/mo), Unitree G1 Humanoid ($2,500/mo), and Unitree Go2 Quadruped ($500/mo). Academic pricing applies to leases — contact us with your institution details. See the leasing page for current availability and full terms.

2. What is included in a lease?

All leases include: the hardware unit, ROS2 drivers and documentation, technical support via email and forum, software updates during the lease term, and maintenance and repair coverage for normal-wear failures. You provide: the operating environment (power, workspace, computer), a qualified operator, and responsible handling per the lease agreement terms.

3. What is the minimum lease term?

Minimum lease term is 1 month. Short-term leases (1-3 months) are ideal for pilot evaluations, workshops, and conference demos. Long-term leases (6-36 months) receive reduced monthly rates. Volume discounts are available for 3+ units. Contact us for pricing on specific configurations and terms.

4. What happens if the robot breaks during my lease?

Hardware failures under normal operating conditions are handled by SVRC at no additional charge. We coordinate repair or swap out the unit within 3-5 business days depending on your location. Damage caused by misuse, drops, or modifications outside the agreed scope may incur a repair fee — specific terms are in your lease agreement. If you are unsure whether something is covered, ask before it becomes a dispute. Contact us to discuss.

5. Can I convert my lease to a purchase?

Yes. All SVRC lease programs include a lease-to-own option. Payments already made can be credited (partially or fully, depending on lease term and platform) toward the purchase price. If you decide mid-lease that you want to keep the hardware, contact us and we will draft a purchase agreement. This is a common path for research labs and startups who start with a short trial and commit after validating their use case.

6. Do you ship leased hardware?

Yes. Leased hardware ships from our Mountain View, CA facility (or Allston, MA for East Coast). Same-day pickup is available at both locations. US domestic shipping: 5-7 business days, included in the lease fee for the first shipment. Return shipping at lease end is the lessee's responsibility. International leasing is available — contact us for shipping costs and terms.

1. What is the Fearless Data Platform?

The Fearless Data Platform is SVRC's cloud platform for robot data management. It provides: episode replay (view any recorded robot episode with synchronized camera, joint, and force data), failure annotation (tag and categorize failure modes), dataset management (organize, version, and share datasets), training job tracking (log training runs and compare metrics), and benchmark evaluation. It is the operational backbone for iterative robot learning: collect data, train, evaluate, identify failures, collect more targeted data.

2. How much does the platform cost?

The Startup tier is $249/month and includes: 100GB storage, 5 team members, episode replay, dataset management, and API access. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes: unlimited storage, unlimited team members, dedicated support, custom integrations, and SLA-backed uptime. Academic access is available at reduced rates — contact us with your institution details. A free trial is available at platform.roboticscenter.ai.

3. What data formats does the platform support?

The platform natively supports HDF5, LeRobot, and RLDS formats. Data can be uploaded via the web interface, Python SDK, or ROS2 upload node. Export is available in all three formats plus CSV (for simple analysis). The platform preserves all metadata: camera calibration, robot configuration, episode timing, and annotation tags.

4. Does the platform integrate with my training pipeline?

Yes. The platform provides a Python SDK for programmatic dataset access and training job logging. It integrates with PyTorch and JAX training loops via standard data loaders. Training metrics (loss curves, evaluation scores) are logged and visualized in the platform dashboard. We do not impose a training framework — use whatever your team knows best.

5. How is data stored and secured?

Data is stored on AWS infrastructure with encryption at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.3). Access is controlled via role-based permissions. For enterprise customers, we offer dedicated instances, VPC peering, and on-premises deployment options. We comply with SOC 2, GDPR, and CCPA requirements. Your data is never used to train SVRC models or shared with other customers without explicit consent.

6. Can I use the platform without buying SVRC hardware?

Yes. The platform supports data from any ROS2-compatible robot. You can upload teleoperation data collected on UR, Franka, Kinova, or any other platform that produces standard data formats. The episode replay and annotation features work with any robot data that follows our schema. However, some features (benchmark comparison, baseline policies) are optimized for SVRC hardware.

1. Where is SVRC located?

SVRC has two facilities. West Coast: 1117 Independence Ave, Mountain View, CA 94043 — our headquarters and primary hardware facility, located near Stanford University. East Coast: 125 Western Ave, Allston, MA 02134 — near MIT and Harvard. Both locations offer in-person demos, same-day hardware pickup, robot repair services, and data collection facilities. Contact contact@roboticscenter.ai to schedule a visit.

2. Who uses SVRC?

SVRC serves four primary audiences: (1) Research labs at universities (Stanford, MIT, CMU, Berkeley, and others) that use our hardware and data services for manipulation research. (2) Startups building robotics products that need hardware, data, and a platform to iterate on. (3) Enterprise teams in automotive, pharmaceutical, electronics, and logistics evaluating robot automation. (4) Educators and students building courses and learning robotics with affordable, open-source hardware. See For Buyers, For Industry, For Educators, and For Students for audience-specific information.

3. How do I get started?

It depends on what you need. To buy or lease hardware: email contact@roboticscenter.ai or visit the Hardware Store. For data collection services: request a quote describing your task. For the platform: sign up at platform.roboticscenter.ai. To learn robotics: start with the free Robotics Academy. For an in-person demo: contact us to schedule at Mountain View or Allston.

4. What support channels are available?

Three channels: (1) Forum — post questions and search existing threads. Community and SVRC staff responses, typically within 24 hours. Best for technical questions and troubleshooting. (2) Email — contact@roboticscenter.ai for orders, quotes, scheduling, and account-specific questions. Response within 1 business day. (3) Dedicated engineering support — available for lease customers, pilot engagements, and enterprise accounts. Includes direct Slack or Teams channel access and priority response.

5. Is SVRC hiring?

Yes. SVRC regularly hires for robotics engineering, teleoperation operations, platform development, and customer success roles. We also offer internship positions for students. Positions are primarily based at our Mountain View, CA facility. Check the Join page for current openings, or email us with your resume and a link to a robotics project you have worked on.