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SO-ARM100 vs SO-101 — Which LeRobot Arm to Buy
SO-ARM100 vs SO-ARM101 compared: what changed, price (~$199-240 kit), 6-DOF leader+follower for LeRobot imitation learning, and which to buy for teleoperation and RL.
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The SO-ARM is the low-cost 6-DOF arm behind most Hugging Face LeRobot imitation-learning projects. SO-101 is the current revision. Here's what changed vs SO-ARM100 and which to buy.
SO-ARM100 vs SO-101
| SO-ARM100 | SO-101 (current) | |
|---|---|---|
| DOF | 6 (5 + gripper) | 6 (5 + gripper) |
| Kit price (from) | ~$199 | ~$199–$240 |
| Wiring | original | improved joint-3 wiring |
| Gears | original | optimized gear ratios |
| Teleop | leader → follower | leader can also follow (RL human-intervention) |
| LeRobot support | yes | yes (native) |
Both are open-source (Apache-2.0, The Robot Studio) and sold as servo kits + 3D-printed parts or assembled pairs. Photo credit for SO-101: The Robot Studio.
Which should you buy?
- New builds → SO-101: the wiring + gear fixes and leader-follow make it the better teleop/RL platform.
- Existing SO-ARM100 users → no need to replace; SO-101 parts are largely compatible.
- Pair it with a webcam + compute (Jetson/Pi) for a full LeRobot rig.
Related: Joint motors · LiDAR for SLAM · Robot dog price · RCSV Eval