Humanoid Quest Book - Fall 2026 (F26)
The Great Objective: Fully Assembled Humanoid
Assemble the complete humanoid (2 arms + 2 legs) as the primary objective of the term, with finalized arm/leg mechanical design and a testing setup to support it. In parallel, finish the electrical system with a manufactured custom PCB, get reliable system-wide interfacing and IMU integration for locomotion on firmware, make progress on locomotion and manipulation policies with RL sim2real work started, and power up the 22DOF hand as a secondary goal.
Term Objectives Summary
-
General & Planning
- Whole humanoid fully assembled (2 arms + 2 legs)
- Arm and leg mechanical design finalized, testing setup built
-
Software
- Locomotion policy progress
- Manipulation progress
- RL sim2real deployment started
- Successful autonomous task demo deployed
- Leader arm built for teleop data collection
-
Embedded / Firmware
- Reliable interfacing across the system (MIT control mode + CAN FD)
- IMU integration for locomotion
- 22DOF hand powered and functional
- Full bringup on hand, legs, and full body (where mechanically possible)
- Telemetry dashboard
-
Mechanical
- Arm and leg design finalized and built for testing
-
Power Systems / Electrical
- Full electrical system complete
- PCB designed and manufactured
Term Objectives and Scoring
General & Planning
- Whole humanoid fully assembled (2 arms + 2 legs)
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Whole humanoid fully assembled with both arms and both legs |
| 7/10 | Humanoid assembled with arms and legs, minor integration issues remaining |
| 5/10 | Partial assembly (e.g. arms or legs only) |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Both arms and both legs mechanically mounted to the body
- Arm and leg mechanical design finalized, testing setup built
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Arm and leg design finalized, testing setup built and in use |
| 7/10 | Design finalized, testing setup partially built |
| 5/10 | Design mostly finalized, testing setup planned |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Arm and leg design finalized
Software
- Locomotion policy progress
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Locomotion policy trained in sim with stable walking behavior |
| 7/10 | Locomotion policy training in progress with partial walking behavior |
| 5/10 | Locomotion training environment set up |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Locomotion training environment set up
- Manipulation progress
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Manipulation policy/task demonstrated on the arm |
| 7/10 | Manipulation policy training in progress |
| 5/10 | Manipulation task and environment defined |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Manipulation task and environment defined
- RL sim2real deployment started
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Trained RL policy deployed on physical hardware |
| 7/10 | Sim2real deployment attempted, notable gap remaining |
| 5/10 | Sim2real pipeline set up, deployment not yet attempted |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Sim2real pipeline set up
- Successful autonomous task demo deployed
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Autonomous task demo successfully deployed and presented |
| 7/10 | Demo working with minor issues |
| 5/10 | Demo in progress |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Demo in progress with a defined task
- Leader arm built for teleop data collection
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Leader arm built and used to collect demonstration data for imitation learning/RL policies |
| 7/10 | Leader arm built with teleop control, data collection in progress |
| 5/10 | Leader arm partially built, basic teleop control implemented |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Leader arm built with basic teleop control
Embedded / Firmware
- Reliable interfacing across the system (MIT control mode + CAN FD)
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | System-wide interfacing reliable end-to-end, using MIT control mode over CAN FD |
| 7/10 | Interfacing working on MIT control mode + CAN FD, with occasional issues |
| 5/10 | Partial interfacing implemented (MIT control mode or CAN FD, not both) |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Basic interfacing functional for core components using MIT control mode over CAN FD
- IMU integration for locomotion
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | IMU integrated and providing reliable data for locomotion |
| 5/10 | IMU integration partially complete |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: IMU publishing data to the system
- 22DOF hand powered and functional
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | 22DOF hand fully powered and functional |
| 5/10 | Hand partially powered, some DOFs working |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Hand powers on with basic joint movement
- Full bringup on hand, legs, and full body (where mechanically possible)
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Full bringup complete on hand, legs, and full body (where mechanically possible) |
| 7/10 | Bringup complete on hand and legs, full body bringup in progress |
| 5/10 | Bringup complete on hand or legs only |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Bringup complete on hand and legs
- Telemetry dashboard
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Telemetry dashboard live, displaying system-wide data (CAN, sensors, IMU, etc.) |
| 7/10 | Telemetry dashboard functional with limited data sources |
| 5/10 | Telemetry dashboard in progress |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Telemetry dashboard displaying basic system data
Mechanical
- Arm and leg design finalized and built for testing
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Arm and leg design finalized, built, and ready for testing |
| 7/10 | Design finalized, build in progress |
| 5/10 | Design mostly finalized |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Arm and leg design finalized
Power Systems / Electrical
- Full electrical system complete
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Full electrical system designed, built, and functional |
| 7/10 | Electrical system built, minor issues remaining |
| 5/10 | Electrical system partially built |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: Core electrical system functional
- PCB designed and manufactured
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | PCB designed, manufactured, and tested |
| 7/10 | PCB manufactured, testing in progress |
| 5/10 | PCB design complete, sent for manufacturing |
| 0/10 | No progress |
Minimum Requirements: PCB design complete
Scoring Template
| Quest Name | Description | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Whole humanoid fully assembled (2 arms + 2 legs) | Whole humanoid fully assembled with both arms and both legs | |
| Arm and leg mechanical design finalized, testing setup built | Arm and leg design finalized, testing setup built and in use | |
| Locomotion policy progress | Locomotion policy trained in sim with stable walking behavior | |
| Manipulation progress | Manipulation policy/task demonstrated on the arm | |
| RL sim2real deployment started | Trained RL policy deployed on physical hardware | |
| Successful autonomous task demo deployed | Autonomous task demo successfully deployed and presented | |
| Leader arm built for teleop data collection | Leader arm built and used to collect demonstration data for imitation learning/RL policies | |
| Reliable interfacing across the system (MIT control mode + CAN FD) | System-wide interfacing reliable end-to-end, using MIT control mode over CAN FD | |
| IMU integration for locomotion | IMU integrated and providing reliable data for locomotion | |
| 22DOF hand powered and functional | 22DOF hand fully powered and functional | |
| Full bringup on hand, legs, and full body (where mechanically possible) | Full bringup complete on hand, legs, and full body (where mechanically possible) | |
| Telemetry dashboard | Telemetry dashboard live, displaying system-wide data (CAN, sensors, IMU, etc.) | |
| Arm and leg design finalized and built for testing | Arm and leg design finalized, built, and ready for testing | |
| Full electrical system complete | Full electrical system designed, built, and functional | |
| PCB designed and manufactured | PCB designed, manufactured, and tested |