Open source Humanoids
InMoov
The life-size open-source 3D-printed humanoid started by French designer Gaël Langevin in 2012 — driven by hobby RC servos and Arduinos, running MyRobotLab, and rebuilt by makers and schools worldwide.
- Type
- Life-size humanoid (upper body)
- Size
- 1:1 human scale
- Servos
- HK15298B, HS805BB, MG996R …
- Controller
- 2 × Arduino Mega / Intel NUC
- Cost
- no official total
- Structure
- ABS / PLA prints
- Open hardware and open code
- Full bill of materials with supplier links
- Direct links to the original CAD, code and papers
01 — Project details
Overview, BOM and resources
Overview
InMoov began as a single robotic hand and grew into arms, head, torso, belly and legs. It is designed in Blender, and every part prints on an ordinary desktop printer.
Fingers are tendon-driven; the head has eye, jaw and neck mechanisms; the open-source MyRobotLab handles speech, vision and gestures. It is one of the most common open humanoids in classrooms and exhibitions.
Key specifications
| Servos | Fingers HK15298B, wrist MG996R, shoulder / arm / head / belly Hitec HS805BB, eyes DS929HV |
|---|---|
| Controllers | 2 × Arduino Mega + Nervo Board; newer builds run MyRobotLab on an Intel NUC |
| Sensors | Cameras, OAK-D-Lite, PIR, HC-SR04 ultrasonic, finger pressure sensors |
| Power | 6 V 12 Ah battery or 6 V 60 A power supply |
Bill of materials
The website BOM (2016) prices only some items — about €798 for those — excluding the NUC, cameras and most head/belly servos, so it is not a full-build price.
Download the BOM (.xlsx) · Official BOM ↗
| Part | Model / spec | Qty | Unit | Subtotal | Supplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | |||||
| Arduino Mega | 2 | €40.00 | €80.00 | ||
| Countersunk hex socket bolt | M3x20mm | 50 | |||
| Countersunk hex socket bolt | M4x20mm | 50 | |||
| Countersunk hex socket bolt | M8x100mm | 15 | |||
| Phillips countersunk wood screw | M3x12mm | 100 | |||
| Phillips countersunk wood screw | M4x20mm | 50 | |||
| Hand & forearm (L/R) | |||||
| HK15298B servo | HK15298B | 10 | €18.00 | €180.00 | |
| MG996R servo (wrist rotation) | MG996R | 2 | €11.00 | €22.00 | |
| Braided line / fishing line | 0.8mm, 200LB | 1 | €10.00 | €10.00 | |
| Assorted bolts | 1 | €10.00 | €10.00 | ||
| Natural ABS | 1500 g | 1 | €70.00 | €70.00 | |
| Extension spring | wire 0.51 mm, length 1 cm (13/64″×13/16″) | 10 | |||
| Arm & shoulder (L/R) | |||||
| Hitec HS805BB servo | HS805BB | 8 | €30.00 | €240.00 | |
| Assorted bolts | 1 | €10.00 | €10.00 | ||
| Black / yellow / natural ABS | 1500 g | 1 | €56.00 | €56.00 | |
| Head & torso | |||||
| Hitec HS805BB (head pitch / yaw) | HS805BB | 2 | |||
| HK15298B (jaw) | HK15298B | 1 | |||
| HK15298B (neck tilt, master/slave) | HK15298B | 2 | |||
| DS929hv Corona or similar (eyes) | DS929HV | 2 | |||
| Camera | Hercules HD (stripped) or Microsoft LifeCam 3000 | 1 | |||
| Depth camera | OAK-D-Lite (fixed focus) | 1 | |||
| Natural ABS | about 4 kg | 1 | |||
| Braided line / fishing line | 0.8mm, 200LB | 1 | €5.00 | €5.00 | |
| Assorted bolts | 1 | €10.00 | €10.00 | ||
| Natural ABS | 1500 g | 1 | €70.00 | €70.00 | |
| Battery 6 V 12 Ah + charger 6 V 1.5 A | 1 | €35.00 | €35.00 | ||
| [Alt] power supply 5 V 50 A (adjustable to 6 V) | 1 | fr.aliexpress.com ↗ | |||
| Mini PC speakers | 8Ω | 2 | |||
| Mini amplifier | 10W, 6V | 1 | |||
| PIR motion sensor | retriggered | 1 | |||
| Cables & wires | 1 | ||||
| Belly | |||||
| Hitec HS805BB (upper belly) | HS805BB | 2 | |||
| Hitec HS805BB or HK15338 (mid belly) | HS805BB / HK15338 | 2 | |||
| Latest setup (NUC) | |||||
| Mini PC (NUC) | Intel i7-8550 / 256GB SSD / 32GB RAM | 1 | |||
| USB 3.0 hub | 8-port | 1 | |||
| Nervo Board | 2 | ||||
| Arduino Nano | 1 | ||||
| NeoPixel | 3 | ||||
| Ultrasonic sensor | HC-SR04 | 2 | |||
| Finger pressure sensor | 10 | ||||
| Hercules camera | 2 | ||||
| USB sound card | 1 | ||||
| Wireless headset | Logitech H600 | 1 | |||
| Speakers | 10W | 2 | |||
| Power supply | 6V 60A | 1 | |||
3D printing & fabrication
- The official build uses ABS (≈1.5 kg for hand + forearm, ≈4 kg for head + torso); bond ABS with acetone and PLA with two-part epoxy.
- Most parts at 30% infill, 3 shells, no supports; print wrist gears at the highest quality.
- Download every STL by body part from the official parts library; the wiring diagram (Default Hardware Map) and parts list are on the website too.
CAD, code & papers
Get the large files — CAD, STL, STEP and code — straight from the original project:
- Official website ↗inmoov.fr
- STL parts library ↗inmoov.fr
- Hardware map & BOM ↗inmoov.fr
- Build tutorials ↗inmoov.fr
- MyRobotLab ↗github.com
- InMoov2 service ↗github.com
- Nervo Board ↗inmoov.fr
- Gallery ↗inmoov.fr
License
Parts CC BY-NC; MyRobotLab / InMoov2 code Apache-2.0.
Image credits
- Image 1: Gaël Langevin / inmoov.fr · © the author — source ↗
- Image 2: Gaël Langevin / inmoov.fr · © the author — source ↗
- Image 3: Gaël Langevin / inmoov.fr · © the author — source ↗
- Image 4: Enric · CC BY-SA 4.0 — source ↗
- Image 5: Matti Blume · CC BY-SA 4.0 — source ↗
- Image 6: DanielPenfield · CC BY-SA 4.0 — source ↗
- Image 7: Gaël Langevin / inmoov.fr · © the author — source ↗
- Image 8: Gaël Langevin / inmoov.fr · © the author — source ↗
Source: Images and data: InMoov (Gaël Langevin, inmoov.fr) and MyRobotLab. Parts released under CC BY-NC; photos © the original author. This site is not affiliated with the original project.
Get the parts
Where to get the parts
Every line in the BOM links to the supplier the original team used. Need help sourcing parts or 3D-printing the structure? Tell us which robot you are building.
02 — Related robots
