Auto-assembled, not yet reviewed

SpotMicroAI

Low-cost 12-DoF 3D-printed quadruped loosely based on Boston Dynamics SpotMini.

Dormant. No upstream changes for two years or more. It may still build, but parts, firmware and docs may have drifted.

The docs were last built on 2020-06-30 and the GitLab source is no longer public.

Lifecycle source

Reproducibility55/100Early source coverage, unverifiedCADBOMWIREFWBUILDLICREPHow it is computed
SpotMicroAI open-source 12-DoF robot dog, 3D render from spot_micro.urdf.xacro
simplified 3D · spot_micro.urdf.xacro

About SpotMicroAI

SpotMicroAI is a low-cost 12-DoF quadruped based on Deok-yeon Kim's (KDY) SpotMicro design, loosely modeled on the Boston Dynamics SpotMini and scaled down to hobby servos and 3D-printed parts. Each leg has three MG996R-class servos driven through a PCA9685 servo driver, with a Raspberry Pi 4 or Jetson Nano for compute. The original GitHub repository is a redirect stub, and the GitLab project it points to is no longer publicly reachable (checked 2026-09-30); the printable STL files remain on Thingiverse under CC BY 4.0, and the ReadTheDocs site lists the parts.

Licenses

Hardware
CC-BY-4.0
Software
Not published
Docs
CC-BY-3.0the docs link CC BY 3.0

Degrees of freedom

12 DoF legs 12

Breakdown source

Quadrupedsource

How to build SpotMicroAI

5 steps

Steps marked Motari summary condense the linked source; follow the source for exact instructions.

  1. Get the design files

    The GitHub repo is only a redirect and the GitLab project it points to is no longer publicly reachable. Download the STL files from Thingiverse thing:3445283 (original KDY design) or thing:3761340 (MG996R parts and STEP files).

    Motari summaryspotmicroai.readthedocs.io/en/latest/assembly

  2. Print the frame and legs

    Print the SpotMicro 3D-printable parts on an FDM printer; the design targets four 3-DoF legs for 12 DoF total.

    Motari summaryspotmicroai.readthedocs.io/en/latest/assembly

  3. Mount 12 servos and the PCA9685

    Install three hobby servos per leg and wire them to a PCA9685 16-channel PWM driver.

    Motari summaryspotmicroai.readthedocs.io/en/latest/assembly

  4. Add compute and power

    Mount a Raspberry Pi or Jetson Nano and the battery, then connect the servo driver over I2C.

    Motari summaryspotmicroai.readthedocs.io/en/latest/assembly

  5. Calibrate and run

    Run the control or simulation software; the docs link a PyBullet gait environment with a ROS joystick interface (OpenQuadruped/spot_mini_mini). The GitLab runtime repositories named in the docs are not publicly reachable.

    Motari summaryspotmicroai.readthedocs.io/en/latest/assembly
Print timenot published
Assembly timenot published

Wiring, power and firmware are safety-relevant and shown for reference only. Check them against the source before building.

SpotMicroAI bill of materials

6 rows

Cost to build

The sources do not publish a cost total. The rows below are what they list, without a sum.

SpotMicroAI parts, as the source lists them. Prices are the source's, not checked against vendors.

SpotMicroAI bill of materials
PartQtySpecSourceConfidence
Hobby PWM servo3 per leg, 12 DoF total
12MG996R-class PWM hobby servos listed by the docs; 12 servos for four 3-DoF legs
source docs / your choiceprice not listedSpotMicroAI ReadTheDocs getting-started materials and 12-DoF build notes
high
Compute boardmain compute
1Jetson Nano or Raspberry Pi 4 listed in the docs and community variants
source docs / your choiceprice not listedSpotMicroAI ReadTheDocs getting-started materials
med
PCA9685 servo driverThe docs list no other controller board; KDY's first version used an Arduino Mega
11 x 16 channel PCA9685 I2C servo driver
source docs / electronics suppliersprice not listedSpotMicroAI ReadTheDocs, Collect All The Things page
med
Sensors, battery and small electronicssupporting electronics
12 x HC-SR04 ultrasonic, 1 x MPU-6050, 1 x I2C 16x2 LCD, 1 x rocker switch, RL3-4 7.4V battery
source docs / electronics suppliersprice not listedSpotMicroAI ReadTheDocs, Collect All The Things page
med
Fasteners and bearingsmechanical hardware
18 x M5x15, 40 x M4x20, 8 x M4x15, 48 x M4 nut, 4 x M3x20, 28 x M3x10, 16 x M3 nut, 8 x F625zz flange bearing
source docs / hardware suppliersprice not listedSpotMicroAI ReadTheDocs, Collect All The Things page
med
3D-printed frame and leg set3D-printing files linked from source docs
1FDM-printable SpotMicroAI frame, leg and body parts; docs link 3D-printing files plus Thingiverse STEP/STL references
3D print yourselfprice not listedSpotMicroAI ReadTheDocs 3D printing files/materials
med

Rows from the source's own parts list 5

spotmicroai.readthedocs.io/en/latest/gettingStarted/html

Source rowQtyPrice and vendorLine
Servo, compute, sensor, power and control electronics materials
one build materials set
spotmicroai.readthedocs.iosource-listed; prices not parsed
L39
3D-printed frame and leg set
one printed parts set
spotmicroai.readthedocs.iosource-linked print files; filament not priced
L45

spotmicroai.readthedocs.io/en/latest/mechanics/html

Source rowQtyPrice and vendorLine
12-DoF servo leg layout
four legs, three driven joints per leg
spotmicroai.readthedocs.iosource-listed; prices not parsed
L11

spotmicroai.readthedocs.io/en/latest/originalReadme/html

Source rowQtyPrice and vendorLine
Original materials cross-check
one build materials set
spotmicroai.readthedocs.iosource-listed; prices not parsed
L159

spotmicroai.readthedocs.io/en/latest/html

Source rowQtyPrice and vendorLine
Canonical docs/source/license context
spotmicroai.readthedocs.iogitlab.comno price listed
L190

SpotMicroAI source files

3 files

Files stay in the upstream repository under their own licenses; these links open them there. The 3D model on this page is Motari's conversion of the file named under Simulation.

SpotMicroAI in simulation

Robot description files a simulator or CAD tool can load, linked at the commit they were found.

No URDF, MJCF, SDF, USD or Onshape model has been found in the sources.

The 3D specimen on this page is converted from spot_micro_rviz/urdf/spot_micro.urdf.xacro at 2a34f5d.

Builds of SpotMicroAI

0 reviewed

No reviewed builds of SpotMicroAI yet.

A build log records the evidence (photos, a video, your repository), what the build cost, how long it took and what you changed. Each one is checked by Motari (until a maintainer claims this page) before it shows here, and reviewed builds count toward the reproducibility score.

Sources and provenance

Sources

Related links

How this page was made

Assembled from public sources on 2026-06-08, not yet reviewed by the maintainer. Each figure links to where it is stated; a value the sources do not state reads "not published". Last source review: source docs unpriced.

Original files stay intact and separately licensed; Motari adds only the summary on this page. Maintainer? Request a correction or removal.

Badge for the README

Maintain SpotMicroAI? Show its reproducibility score in the project's README. The badge links back to this page and updates with the score.

Badge: reproducibility 55/100

Markdown
[![Motari reproducibility score for SpotMicroAI](https://motari.io/api/v1/badge/spotmicroai)](https://motari.io/r/spotmicroai)
HTML
<a href="https://motari.io/r/spotmicroai"><img src="https://motari.io/api/v1/badge/spotmicroai" alt="Motari reproducibility score for SpotMicroAI" height="20"></a>

Not fully met yet: cad / mesh present (partial), bom evidence (partial), wiring diagram (partial), build instructions (partial). The score is read from the project's own sources, so publishing what is missing is what raises it. A score of 90 or more needs a reviewed build. How the score is computed