Hiwonder NexArm LeRobot 6-Axis Robot Arm — Leader, Follower & Imitation Learning Kits

Overview

The Hiwonder NexArm LeRobot is a six-axis open-source robotic arm platform for teleoperation, imitation learning and embodied AI development. Metal construction, magnetic-encoder bus servos and inverse-kinematics control provide a practical platform for collecting demonstrations and testing robot policies. Choose a single Follower or Leader arm, or a paired Standard or Advanced kit. Advanced adds a second camera and metal mount for dual-view data collection.

Choose Your Configuration

Configuration Guide

Leader-follower teleoperation and imitation-learning demonstrations require both arms. A single-arm selection does not include the other arm. A computer or external compute platform is required for the relevant training and policy workloads and is not included.

Features

• Metal frame, all-metal servo gears, dual-output-shaft magnetic encoder bus joints and concealed wiring for desktop robotics development.
• Follower gripper uses parallel rails, silicone contact pads and stainless-steel transmission parts.
• Leader 1:147 and follower 1:345 reduction ratios support hand-guided demonstrations and stable follower motion respectively.
• Trapezoidal acceleration/deceleration, continuous interpolation and inverse kinematics reduce start-stop vibration and coordinate multi-axis movement.
• 12-bit non-contact magnetic angle feedback with servo readback of temperature, voltage and position.
• Industrial bearing base, real-time joint monitoring, adjustable speed/torque, PID tuning, stall protection and over-temperature protection.
• App, PC, USB serial, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi control; wireless multi-device unicast, multicast and broadcast projects.
• LeRobot integration supports demonstration recording, datasets, model training and policy deployment.

LeRobot, Teleoperation and Learning

Use the leader arm for hand-guided teaching while the follower reproduces motion and grasping trajectories. Synchronized leader-follower operation records multimodal demonstrations for downstream learning. The workflow covers data collection, upload, imitation-learning model training, policy deployment and autonomous task execution.

NexArm integrates with the Hugging Face LeRobot ecosystem, including community models, recorded datasets, simulation resources and open-source repositories. Supported development topics include ACT, Diffusion Policy and Pi0/VLA policies. Training and deployment depend on the chosen policy, software environment and external compute; the arm controller alone does not run every large model.

External Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA platforms or a PC with a dedicated GPU can be used in the corresponding development environment. First-person vision supports hand-eye data collection around the gripper. Advanced adds third-person wide-angle vision for global workspace observation and coordinated dual-view recording. Camera functions require the corresponding kit hardware and configured software.

Control and Software

The PC host software includes action-group editing, coordinate control, a real-time 3D arm display and system settings. Edit joints frame by frame with sliders or numeric input, or enter 3D end-effector coordinates and pose parameters through inverse kinematics. Tune servo PID, offsets, speed, acceleration, torque limits, overload triggers and baud rate while monitoring voltage, position, angle, speed and torque-related parameters.

App control provides individual-joint operation, grasping/sorting demonstrations and preset action groups. The Arduino-compatible interface works with Arduino IDE and open example code with explanatory comments. Host operating systems are Windows, Linux and macOS; individual tools and policies require the corresponding supported installation.

Wireless control supports one-to-one PS3-style controller pairing and multiple independent systems. The paired imitation-learning kits include the PS3 wireless controller; the single-arm packing lists do not. Wireless multi-device projects support unicast, multicast and broadcast modes, including multilingual remote-collaboration examples. Strong external-force response can unload the joints and restore position after the force is removed.

Specifications

Platform

Follower and Leader Mechanical Data

Nominal dimensions describe the listed arm envelopes. Drawing dimensions are labeled view-specific references for installation planning; the illustrated pose changes the occupied workspace. The gripper-opening reference is 51 mm.

Servo Parameters

All four servo models support readback, temperature/voltage/position feedback, stall protection and over-temperature protection. Stall torque describes an individual servo at the stated voltage; it is distinct from the arm’s 500 g payload reference. The HX-65HM 65 kg·cm rating uses 12.6 V, while its listed speed uses 11.1 V.

Controller Shared Features

Follower Controller

Leader Controller

Vision Modules

The camera modules support manual focus and driver-free plug-and-play capture in the configured host environment.

Packaging References

Applications

• Teleoperation dataset collection: pair leader and follower arms to record demonstrated grasping and placement trajectories.
• Imitation-learning experiments: use recorded demonstrations and the LeRobot software environment to train and evaluate manipulation policies.
• Vision-guided tabletop tasks: collect gripper-view observations with Standard, or combine gripper and workspace views with Advanced.
• Motion-control teaching: compare direct joint commands, inverse-kinematics coordinate control and acceleration/deceleration settings.
• Custom robotics development: extend Arduino code and controller interfaces for coordinated devices and sensor-based projects.

What's Included

Follower Arm or Leader Arm

Each single-arm selection includes the corresponding assembled arm, G clamps, an adapter plate, a 12 V 5 A DC 5.5 × 2.5 mm power adapter, a 1000 mm Type-C cable, 200 mm module/servo cables, screw pack, screwdriver and user manual. These selections do not include a camera, a second arm or the paired-kit controller.

Imitation Learning Standard Kit

Includes one assembled follower arm, one assembled leader arm, G clamps, adapter plates, a 0.3MP wide-angle camera with bracket, PS3 wireless controller, two 12 V 5 A power adapters, a four-port USB hub with 1000 mm cable, 1000 mm Type-C cables, 1000 mm USB data cable, 200 mm module/servo cables, screw pack, screwdriver and user manual.

Imitation Learning Advanced Kit

Includes the Standard paired-arm equipment, plus a 2MP wide-angle camera with bracket and an all-metal camera mount for a third-person workspace view. Computer, screen, training workstation, additional robots and scene props are not included.

FAQ

Do I need two arms for imitation learning?

Leader-follower teaching requires both a leader and a follower. Standard and Advanced include the pair; the Follower Arm and Leader Arm selections each contain only the named arm.

How do Standard and Advanced differ?

Both paired kits include a first-person 0.3MP camera and bracket. Advanced adds a 2MP third-person camera and all-metal camera mount for dual-view collection.

Does every selection include a PS3 controller or camera?

No. The paired Standard and Advanced kits include a PS3 wireless controller and camera equipment; the single-arm packing lists do not.

Can the ESP32 controller train large AI policies by itself?

Model training and deployment use a compatible external compute platform and the configured LeRobot/policy environment. The arm controllers handle motion and communication; no training computer is included.

Is 65 kg·cm the arm payload?

No. It is the HX-65HM servo stall-torque rating at 12.6 V. The follower arm has a separate 500 g payload reference.

Videos

Visual Details

Images include paired-arm demonstrations and Advanced dual-camera equipment. Camera and controller inclusion follows the selected configuration above.