NVIDIA has recently introduced the Isaac GR00T Reference Humanoid Robot, marking a significant step in humanoid robotics. This innovative robot, built on the Jetson Thor compute platform and the Isaac GR00T AI development stack, is designed to make the development of humanoid robots easier and more accessible.
During a keynote at NVIDIA GTC Taipei on June 1, CEO Jensen Huang highlighted the robot’s impressive design, featuring a Unitree H2 Plus humanoid body with advanced Sharpa five-fingered hands. The combined system allows for 25 degrees of freedom in each hand and 31 degrees of freedom in the robot itself, weighing in at around 150 pounds.
One of the main challenges in humanoid robotics has been the fragmentation of tools and components. Developers often have to gather hardware, software, and AI models from various sources, which can complicate the process. The GR00T aims to address this issue by offering a fully integrated solution, streamlining development efforts for teams.
The robot includes hardware components from Unitree and advanced AI capabilities from NVIDIA, all working together seamlessly. The Isaac GR00T software platform supports a range of functions, including data capture, model evaluation, and deployment, providing a cohesive workflow.
Notably, several prestigious institutions, such as ETH Zurich, Stanford Robotics Center, Ai2, and UC San Diego, are already on board with this new platform. Michael Yip, a professor at UC San Diego, emphasized that this integrated system could significantly help researchers in loco-manipulation studies.
Anticipation is building as the Isaac GR00T is set to be commercially available through Unitree in late 2026. Additionally, the workflow for the Unitree G1 model is expected to be shared on GitHub and Hugging Face soon.
