STANFORD DOGGO: THE OPEN-SOURCE ROBOT DOG THAT BACKFLIPS
A record-setting jumping quadruped from a Stanford student team — on vertical jumping agility it matches the best animal jumper, and the paper and CAD are public.
by Nathan Kau & Stanford Student Robotics
RoboticsResearch
Built withTeensy3D printing
- difficulty
- ●●●●○
- time
- several weekends
- license
- MIT
- repo
- repo END-OF-LIFE2,561 stars
●●●●○ · several weekends · MIT · 2,561 stars · repo END-OF-LIFE
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Jump to section
COMPAREE VERDICT
Stanford Doggo is the robot dog from that viral jumping video — and it earned it: the student team set a record for vertical jumping agility, matching the best-performing animal and beating the previous best robot by 22%. The engineering is elegant: quasi-direct-drive brushless motors that are backdrivable, so the robot can sense impacts without expensive force sensors, all driven by a modified ODrive. The honest catch is that the repo is research-grade and sparse — the CAD is a cloud Fusion link (no STEP pack), the BOM is a Google Sheet, and the code is split across repos. The team has also declared Doggo end-of-life and moved on to Pupper v3, so if you want to actually build and learn, start with Pupper; come to Doggo for the jumping and the paper.
IN THE REPO
GOOD TO KNOW
- —CAD is a cloud Fusion 360 link — there's no STEP pack in the repo
- —BOM lives in a Google Sheet
- —Code is split: the main repo (MIT) plus a Teensy repo and an ODrive fork
- —It's research-grade and sparse — if you want a friendlier build, see Pupper
Parts to buy
4 itemsFrom our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.
Can I build this?
Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.
Videos
Stanford Doggo ICRA Submission Video
The famous jumping demo that put Doggo on the map.
More builds like this
All projectsGallery
Start here
Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.
- 1.Read the paper (the design and the record)
- 2.Watch the jump (why it's famous)
- 3.Open the repo (CAD link + BOM sheet)
- 4.Consider Pupper first (Pupper v3 — the team's current, documented robot dog (the original Pupper repo is also end-of-life))
- 5.Read the Pupper docs (if you go the Pupper route)
Resources
Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.
KNOWN ISSUES
- The CAD is a cloud Fusion 360 link — there's no STEP pack in the repo
- The BOM is a Google Sheet and the code is split across repos — this is a research build, not a kit
- If you actually want to build a quadruped as a beginner, start with Pupper, not Doggo
Does it really out-jump animals?
Yes, on one measure — vertical jumping agility, which is average vertical speed during a jump. The paper reports Doggo matches the best-performing animal and beats the previous best robot by 22%.
How does it feel impacts without force sensors?
Quasi-direct-drive brushless motors are backdrivable, so the robot senses contact through the motors themselves, controlled via a modified ODrive.
Is this a good first robot?
No. The repo is sparse and research-grade. Build the team's Pupper v3 first — it has a full documentation site — then explore Doggo.
What does it cost?
Band $$ — the BOM sheet has current prices.
Community builds
No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.
Discussion1
FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM
Doggo feels the ground through backdrivable motors instead of force sensors — the actuators are the sensors. Elegant minimalism, or a fragility you'd engineer out?
SpotMicro: Print Your Own Spot-Style Robot Dog
●●●●○ · a more documented, printable quadruped to actually build
You can 3D-print your own walking Star Wars BD-X droid - fully open-source
●●●●○ · a legged robot that learns to walk with RL
NASA published the plans for its Mars rover so you can build one
●●●●○ · if you'd rather roll than walk
Nathan Kau & Stanford Student Robotics
A Stanford student team built a record-setting jumping quadruped and open-sourced the design and paper, then made the friendlier Pupper so anyone could build a robot dog.
Keep building — related projects
Same category or platform, picked by how close they are to this build.
NO CAD FILESDuke Humanoid: A Biped That Walks With Passive Dynamics
RoboticsFor expert builders
FULL CADYou can build an open-source underwater research robot for 850 dollars
RoboticsFor expert builders
FULL CADA 3D printed drone that flies on a single propeller, steered by air vanes
RoboticsFor advanced builders
FULL CADYou can 3D print this open-source robot dog with cycloidal gearboxes
RoboticsFor expert builders
FULL CADYou can build a real Transformer you can ride
RoboticsFor expert builders
FULL CADMUR: an open-source underwater robot for research and exploration
RoboticsFor expert builders
DISCLAIMER
- Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
- Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
- Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
CompareeTEAM2mo agoedited
Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.