What's in This Configuration

The R1-A5 Smart H is the flagship fixed-base configuration, featuring tendon-driven dexterous hands — the most biomimetic actuation technology in the R1-A5 lineup. Unlike motor-in-finger designs, tendon-driven mechanisms route actuation power through flexible cables, enabling lighter fingers, higher power-to-weight ratios, and compliance that closely mimics human musculotendinous systems. Combined with the built-in Orin Nano 40 TOPS, Smart H is the platform of choice for researchers in biomimetic robotics, neuroscience-inspired control, and cutting-edge dexterous manipulation.

Tendon-Driven Dexterous Hands — Biomimetic by Design

The tendon-driven dexterous hands on Smart H represent a fundamentally different approach to robotic actuation. Rather than placing motors inside each finger, actuators are located in the forearm and power is transmitted through flexible tendon cables — exactly like human muscles and tendons. This architecture delivers three critical advantages: lighter fingers for faster motion and lower inertia; inherent compliance that absorbs impacts and adapts to object geometry; and variable stiffness that can be tuned from rigid precision grasping to soft compliant contact. For researchers in biomimetic robotics, neuroscience, and bio-inspired control, this is the closest mechanical analog to human hand anatomy available in the R1-A5 platform.

Biomimetic Actuation — Engineering Meets Biology

Smart H is designed for researchers who study biological motion and translate it to robotics. The tendon-driven architecture enables experiments in variable impedance control, antagonistic muscle-like actuation, and stiffness modulation — control strategies directly inspired by human neuromuscular systems. The compliance inherent in cable transmission makes the hands naturally safe for physical human-robot interaction, while the high power-to-weight ratio enables dynamic, athletic finger motions that rigid motor-in-finger designs struggle to replicate. Combined with the Orin Nano 40 TOPS for real-time biomimetic control policy execution, Smart H bridges neuroscience and robotics engineering.

Orin Nano 40 TOPS — AI Compute for Biomimetic Control

The built-in NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano delivers 40 TOPS of AI compute, handling the complex dynamics of tendon-driven systems, visual perception from the head binocular camera, and reinforcement learning policies for biomimetic control. Run variable impedance controllers, antagonistic actuation networks, and bio-inspired grasping algorithms locally with sub-millisecond latency. No external GPU server, no cloud dependency — just plug in power and start training.

Binocular Vision & AI Perception

A binocular camera head delivers a 146° × 124° field of view with a 60 mm stereo baseline. RGB streams at 1280×720@30 Hz and depth at 544×448@10 Hz give the R1-A5 true spatial awareness. Paired with an 8-core high-performance CPU + 10 TOPS NPU in the head module, plus the Orin Nano 40 TOPS body compute, it runs visual SLAM, object detection, and gesture recognition locally — no cloud required.

Voice Collaboration & Natural Interaction

Four-array beamforming microphones and dual 3 W speakers enable clear voice capture and synthesis in noisy labs or classrooms. The open audio framework supports custom wake words, multilingual TTS, and integration with LLMs for conversational command-and-control.

Compact. Lightweight. Desk-Ready.

At just 700 × 357 × 190 mm and approximately 11 kg, the R1-A5 Smart H fits on a standard lab bench or classroom desk. The fixed-base design eliminates footprint concerns while delivering full upper-body humanoid kinematics with biomimetic tendon-driven dexterity. Power via the included external supply — an optional upper-body Li-ion battery is available for ~1.5 hours of untethered operation.

Full-Stack Open Development

Unitree provides a mature, Linux-based robot development framework with open APIs for the underlying system, robotic arms, audio, lighting, and visual control. ROS 2 native support, dual encoders on every arm joint, and hollow internal wiring make the R1-A5 Smart H a clean slate for reinforcement learning, teleoperation research, embodied AI, and biomimetic manipulation studies. The built-in Orin Nano 40 TOPS handles model training and inference for tendon-driven control policies without external hardware.

Upgrade Path — Grow With Your Research

Smart H is the flagship fixed-base configuration. Expand further with platform-level upgrades:

• Upper-Body Battery — Add the Li-ion battery pack for ~1.5 hours of cord-free operation.
• Mobile Base — Upgrade to the R1-A5-D platform with wheeled autonomous chassis, LiDAR, and expanded workspace.

Designed For

Technical Specifications

Model	Unitree R1-A5 Smart H (Fixed Base)
Dimensions	700 × 357 × 190 mm
Weight	~11 kg (with external PSU)
Total DOF	13 (Arm 5×2, Waist 1, Head 2)
Arm Reach	420 mm (forearm + upper arm)
Peak Shoulder Torque	60 Nm
Max Arm Payload	~2 kg (posture-dependent)
End-Effector Precision	±0.1 mm
End Effectors	Tendon-driven dexterous hands with biomimetic cable actuation (both arms)
Actuation Architecture	Tendon-driven (cable-actuated) with remote forearm-mounted actuators mimicking human musculotendinous system
Key Advantages	Lightweight fingers, inherent compliance, variable stiffness, high power-to-weight ratio, natural impact absorption
Vision	Binocular camera — RGB 1280×720@30 Hz, Depth 544×448@10 Hz, FOV 146°×124°
Head Compute	8-core high-performance CPU + 10 TOPS NPU
Body Compute	8-core high-performance CPU
Onboard AI Compute	NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano 40 TOPS (built-in)
Audio	4-array microphone + dual 3 W speakers
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, OTA updates
Power	External DC PSU included (optional Li-ion battery, ~1.5 h)
SDK & Interfaces	Linux-based framework, ROS 2, open APIs for arm/audio/vision/lighting
Controllers	Standard dual-hand controllers included
Warranty	12 months on the entire unit

What's in the Box

• Unitree R1-A5 Smart H Humanoid Robot (fixed base)
• Tendon-driven dexterous hands with biomimetic cable actuation (pre-installed, both arms)
• NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano 40 TOPS compute module (pre-installed)
• External power supply & AC cable
• Binocular vision head module (pre-installed)
• 4-array microphone + dual speaker module (pre-installed)
• Standard dual-hand remote controllers
• Quick-start guide & safety manual
• Secondary development documentation access

R1-A5 Configuration Guide

Every configuration shares the same R1-A5 body — the difference is the end effector. Choose the one that matches your research goals:

Config	Hand	Features
Smart A	Dex1-1 V2	Entry-level parallel grippers, Orin Nano 40 TOPS
Smart B	Dex3-1 (RGB)	3-finger dexterous hand with wrist RGB camera
Smart C	Dex3-1 Tactile (RGB)	3-finger hand with tactile sensors + wrist RGB camera
Smart D	BrainCo Revo 2 Basic (RGB)	5-finger anthropomorphic hand with wrist RGB camera
Smart E	BrainCo Revo 2 Tactile (RGB)	5-finger hand with tactile sensors + wrist RGB camera
Smart F	LinkerBot O6 (RGB)	6-DOF dexterous hand with wrist RGB camera
Smart G	LinkerBot O6 Tactile (RGB)	6-DOF hand with tactile sensors + wrist RGB camera
Smart H	Tendon-driven dexterous hand	Advanced tendon-driven mechanism for research-grade dexterity

* Specifications are based on manufacturer data and may vary slightly by production batch. Optional battery, compute module, and alternative end effectors sold separately.
Unitree® is a registered trademark of Unitree Robotics. Images are for reference; actual product appearance may differ.
Users must maintain a sufficient safety distance. This is a civilian robot — comply with local laws and regulations.