reBot Arm B601-DM – An open-source 6+1 DoF robotic arm for embodied AI and teleoperation applications

Seeed Studio reBot Arm B601-DM is a fully open-source 6-axis robotic arm (plus a parallel gripper) designed to lower the barrier to entry for embodied AI learning and teleoperation. Built around high-performance Damiao actuators, the arm offers up to 767mm of reach, a 1.5kg payload capacity, and high-precision 0.2mm repeatability.

Designed for researchers and robotics developers, the B601-DM is compatible out of the box with major AI and robotics frameworks, including ROS 1/2, Hugging Face’s LeRobot, NVIDIA Isaac Sim, and Pinocchio.

Seeed Studio reBot Arm B601-DM specifications:

• Communication – CAN bus @ 1Mbps) and UART @ 921600bps
• Degrees of Freedom (DOF) – 6-axis arm + 1 parallel gripper
• Motors / Actuators – 7x Damiao motors
  • 4x DAMIAO 4310 (DM-J4310-2EC)
  • 3x DAMIAO 4340P (DM-J4340P-2EC) high-torque motors
• Payload – 1.5kg (without gripper, at recommended 70% reach)
• Reach – 767mm (with gripper), 607mm (without gripper)
• Repeatability – < 0.2 mm
• Joint torque and range
  • Joint 1 – 27 N·m, ±2.61 rad
  • Joint 2 – 27 N·m, -3.7 to 0 rad
  • Joint 3 – 27 N·m, -3.7 to 0 rad
  • Joint 4 – 7 N·m, ±1.57 rad
  • Joint 5 – 7 N·m, ±1.57 rad
  • Joint 6 – 7 N·m, ±1.57 rad
  • Gripper – -325° to 0° (-5.7 rad to 0 rad, 0 to 100mm width)
• Encoders – 14-bit Single-turn magnetic encoders
• Control Modes – MIT Mode, Speed Mode, and Position Mode
• Max Velocity – Up to 200 rad/s on J4/J5/J6/Gripper, 50 rad/s on J1/J2/J3
• Safety
  • Driver/Motor over-temperature protection
  • Over/Under-voltage protection
  • Over-current protection
  • Communication loss timeouts
• Power Supply – DC 24V, 15A
• Dimensions
  • Base width – 140 mm
  • Base height – ~140.2 mm
  • Main vertical arm length – ~264 mm
  • Upper arm segments
    • 211.42 mm
    • 101.50 mm
    • 160.21 mm
• Weight – ~4.5 – 4.7 kg
• Operating Temperature – -20°C to 50°C
• Material
  • CNC-machined Aluminum Alloy 5052 for core structural links
  • ABS and PLA for 3D-printed brackets, filler plates, and decorative covers

The arm does not come with a built-in computer or controller (like a Raspberry Pi). So the USB-CAN board must be plugged into a host PC or edge computing device, such as an NVIDIA Jetson board or a PC, to act as the brain.

The arm supports the MIT mode, a hybrid control scheme (popularized by the MIT Cheetah robot) that enables the controller to send position, velocity, and torque (current) commands simultaneously in a single CAN packet. It is crucial for dynamic, compliant movements like a robot arm interacting safely with a human.

The B601-DM comes with a well-supported and actively developed software stack. It includes a Python SDK based on “Motorbridge,” a motor control library that supports various types of joint motors. The arm also supports the Pinocchio framework, an open-source C++ library for rigid body dynamics. This is important for robotics developers, as it handles the complex math needed to determine the arm’s position in 3D space (forward kinematics) and calculate the required joint angles to reach a target point (inverse kinematics).

While the hardware is already available, some software features are still being completed. Full ROS2 (Humble) support, including optimized MoveIt2 drivers, is currently in development. Support for importing USD models into NVIDIA Isaac Sim for simulation and teleoperation is also being added, and integration with the Hugging Face LeRobot framework is expected by late April 2026. More information about software support can be found on the company’s GitHub repository.

The company mentions AI on its product page, but does not clearly explain how it is implemented in the arm. Based on the available information, it appears to rely on Hugging Face’s LeRobot framework, which uses imitation learning—where a human manually moves the B601-DM arm, and the AI learns to replicate those movements.

From the GitHub repository, I can see that the company is also working on a reBot Arm B601-RS, an identical robotic arm that swaps the Damiao actuators for Robstride motors. The company also mentions that the v1.0 GitHub BOM is explicitly optimized for developers to 3D print and CNC machine their own parts at the lowest possible cost. The official retail kits purchased directly from Seeed feature premium upgrades not found in the raw BOM, such as laser-engraved anti-error markings, upgraded braided wire harnesses, and the replacement of several 3D-printed load-bearing brackets with machined metal parts for enhanced durability.

We have covered several robotic arms on CNX Software before, ranging from low-cost ESP32-based desktop robots like Waveshare RoArm-M3-Pro and RoArm-M3-S, and industrial cobots like Elephant Robotics myCobot 280 Pi, and various low-cost options like Yahboom DOFBOT 6, and WLKATA Robotics’ Haro380 6-axis mini robotic arm, compared to all that the reBot Arm B601-DM sits in between, with an open-source design and higher payload capacity for its price.

Because the reBot Arm B601-DM is a DIY platform, Seeed Studio sells it in separate modules. This lets developers who already have compatible motors, or want to use their own parts, buy just the components they need. The system is broken down into the following five distinct variants available for pre-order:

• reBot Arm B601-DM Bundle ($1,197.00): This is the complete DIY kit. It includes all three sub-kits, including the Body Motor Kit, Body Structure Kit, and Gripper Kit, required to build the fully functional 6+1 DOF arm.
• A. reBot Arm B601-DM Body Motor Kit ($829.00): This kit includes the electronics and motors for the main arm, such as six Damiao motors (three 4310 and three 4340P), a USB-CAN driver board, a power board, and the required XT30 cables.
• B. reBot Arm B601-DM Body Structure Kit ($169.00): This kit includes only the mechanical parts of the arm (without the gripper), including metal components, 3D-printed components, screws, and pins. It is meant for users who already have compatible motors. The kit contains 21 metal parts and 17 3D-printed components.
• C. reBot Arm B601-DM Gripper Kit ($199.00): This kit includes the gripper (end-effector), with its mechanical parts and one Damiao 4310 motor to control it.
• reBot Arm B601-DM Assembled Kit with Gripper ($1,499.00): This is the fully assembled version for those who do not want to handle assembly and wiring.

All the reBot Arm B601-DM open-source AI robotic arm kits are listed for pre-order on the Seeed Studio store, with the Body Structure Kit estimated to be available on April 24, 2026.

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