Everything Your Lab Needs to Go From Idea to Published Results
Hardware procurement, data collection infrastructure, and open-format dataset exports — SVRC removes the setup overhead so your team can focus on research contributions.
The Problem
Six Months of Setup Before Any Science Gets Done
Robot research labs consistently report the same bottleneck: by the time hardware is procured, calibrated, and integrated with data collection software, a significant fraction of grant funding and grad student time has been spent on infrastructure rather than research.
Hardware Procurement Delays
University procurement cycles add 8–20 weeks to hardware delivery. International shipping and customs clearance compound delays for non-US institutions. SVRC leases ship same-week from Palo Alto stock.
Integration and Calibration Overhead
Setting up a bimanual teleoperation system, calibrating cameras, and building a data collection pipeline from scratch takes weeks of engineering time that most research labs cannot spare.
Data Format Fragmentation
Collecting proprietary data in custom formats makes it hard to share datasets, reproduce results, or leverage pre-trained models from the broader community. SVRC exports natively to LeRobot and Open X-Embodiment formats.
Research Packages
Three Tiers to Match Your Program
Whether you are a PhD student running tabletop manipulation experiments or a multi-PI lab running large-scale mobile manipulation studies, SVRC has a configuration that ships ready to collect data.
Starter Package
For individual researchers and small lab groups beginning imitation learning or teleoperation work.
- OpenArm robotic arm (6-DOF, open-source hardware)
- SVRC data platform access — record, annotate, export
- Teleoperation interface with RealSense depth cameras
- LeRobot-compatible dataset export included
- Setup documentation and onboarding call
- Academic pricing available on request
Full Research Package
For labs running bimanual or mobile manipulation research with higher data volume requirements.
- Mobile ALOHA or equivalent bimanual platform
- Trained SVRC teleop operators available for data sessions
- Full SVRC data platform — multi-camera streams, annotation, versioning
- HuggingFace dataset integration and automatic upload
- Open X-Embodiment compatible export format
- Priority engineering support and monthly check-ins
Custom Configuration
For programs with unique hardware requirements, multi-site deployments, or long-term data collection partnerships.
- Custom hardware selection and integration (your spec or ours)
- Multi-institution data collection coordination
- Dedicated SVRC infrastructure and support SLA
- Joint dataset curation and publication support
- Long-term lease with lease-to-own conversion available
- Data licensing and IP terms tailored to your institution
Platform
Open Formats. Reproducible Science.
SVRC's data platform is built for research workflows: structured episode recording, multi-modal annotation, and one-click export to the formats used by the broader robotics research community.
LeRobot-Compatible Exports
Every dataset collected through SVRC can be exported in LeRobot's HuggingFace dataset format — ready for fine-tuning ACT, Diffusion Policy, or any policy architecture in the LeRobot library.
HuggingFace Dataset Integration
Push datasets directly to your HuggingFace organization from the SVRC platform. Version control, dataset cards, and community sharing are handled automatically.
Open X-Embodiment Format
Export in RLDS/TensorFlow Datasets format compatible with Open X-Embodiment. Contribute your data to the shared robotics research corpus or keep it private — your choice.
Episode Annotation Tools
Label success/failure, segment tasks, add language annotations, and filter low-quality episodes — all through the SVRC web interface without custom tooling.
External resources and integrations:
Pricing
Academic Pricing Available
SVRC offers reduced-rate leasing and data service packages for accredited university laboratories and non-profit research institutions. Pricing depends on the scope of hardware, duration, and data collection volume.
Academic pricing note: University labs, independent research groups, and non-profit institutions qualify for discounted lease rates and waived setup fees on qualifying research programs. Proof of institutional affiliation is required. Contact us for details — include your institution name, PI, and a brief description of your research program.
Start Your Research Program
Tell us about your research goals and hardware needs. We respond within one business day and can typically ship hardware within one week of a signed agreement.