Unitree B1 · Quadruped

A ROS-driven four-legged robot, fully documented.

Twelve actuated leg joints under a ROS driver stack (QRE B1) — walking, teleop, Gazebo/Champ simulation, and optional Z1 arm or Ouster LiDAR field upgrades, layered on stock Unitree B1 hardware by MYBOTSHOP.

Quadruped4 legs · holonomic drive
12 DOFHip · thigh · calf × 4 legs
ROS Melodic / NoeticUbuntu 18.04 / 20.04
cmd_velTwist-based holonomic control
Champ + GazeboSimulation & navigation
Onboard hotspotUnitreeRoboticsB1‑### · 192.168.12/123.x
OptionalZ1 arm · Ouster LiDAR upgrade
Loading 3D model…
  · b1_description · 12-DOF leg model · simplified for browser
Download URDF (.zip)
Quadruped
Platform
12
Actuated Leg Joints
ROS 1
Melodic / Noetic
QRE B1
Software
Unitree
Manufacturer
Quick Start

From a fresh workstation to driving the B1

The B1's ROS driver runs on a remote PC or on the robot's own onboard Raspberry Pi / Nvidia upgrade board — nothing needs installing on the robot's control board itself.

01

Install ROS & build the workspace

Install ROS Noetic (Ubuntu 20.04) or ROS Melodic (Ubuntu 18.04) on the remote PC or onboard computer, then create a catkin workspace and build against it. Full apt/catkin command sequences for both distributions are in the PDF manual.

ROS NoeticROS Melodiccatkin build
02

Connect to the B1

Connect over the supplied Ethernet cable with a static IP, or join the robot's own hotspot — SSID pattern UnitreeRoboticsB1-###, default password 00000000. Once connected, the B1-MCU is reachable at 192.168.12.1 (password 123); the two onboard PCs are documented at 192.168.123.161 (main) and 192.168.123.12 (Nvidia), also password 123.

ssh unitree@<ip>pw 123
03

Launch the driver

High-level mode brings the robot to walking control: roslaunch b1_base base.launch opens the communication channel and publishes robot state on state, subscribing to cmd_vel for locomotion. Low-level mode is documented but still in active development.

High-level: availableLow-level: in development
04

Visualize & teleoperate

roslaunch b1_viz view_robot.launch shows the robot's current state; drive it with the standard ROS teleop_twist_keyboard node remapped onto the robot's namespaced cmd_vel topic — no extra hardware required.

b1_vizteleop_twist_keyboard

Full pre-requisite install walkthrough, network reference and command sequences: MYBOTSHOP B1 User Manual (PDF) · Official Unitree B1 User Manual.

Software & Hardware

The QRE B1 ROS package set

A set of ROS packages layered on the B1 by MYBOTSHOP / QUADRUPED Robotics — base driving, description, simulation, visualization and teleop, built on top of Unitree's own SDK.

B1 Base

The core driver, in two modes that can't be switched at runtime: high-level mode for walking (holonomic cmd_vel control via Twist messages, robot state on state, pose via the set_body_pose service); low-level joint mode is documented but still in development.

cmd_vel (holonomic)set_body_pose service

B1 Description

The ROS package behind the model in the viewer above: the B1's 3D meshes stitched into a single URDF, including mount points for auxiliary components such as LiDAR. roslaunch b1_description check_joint.launch lets you adjust auxiliary component placement offline.

URDFcheck_joint.launch

B1 Gazebo

Simulation and control in Gazebo, built on the vendored Champ quadruped-control framework — teleoperate the simulated robot and use it as a base for SLAM and autonomous navigation work.

Champ frameworkSLAM-ready

B1 Viz

Visualization of the robot's current state, in both simulation and on real hardware — roslaunch b1_viz view_robot.launch, automatically launched alongside the base driver to show the perceived leg position live.

view_robot.launch

B1 Control

Teleop support for a Logitech controller: roslaunch b1_control controller.launch. Localization files for full navigation are on the roadmap but not yet published.

Logitech teleop
Coming soon

B1 Camera

An onboard camera package is documented as a placeholder in the QRE B1 software set — no content published yet. Ask us directly for current status.

Not yet published
Unitree B1 quadruped walking, from the B1 Manuals documentation page
B1 walking under high-level driver control
Unitree B1 in Gazebo simulation via the Champ framework
Gazebo simulation via Champ
Unitree B1 base driver in operation
B1 Base driver in operation

Ubuntu 18.04/ROS Melodic and Ubuntu 20.04/ROS Noetic are both documented build targets; an installer.bash script automates dependency installation once you have the B1 software package — email us for the latest driver.

Augmentations

Field upgrades: arm & LiDAR

The B1 can be extended with additional sensors and hardware — each requiring its own software modifications, documented in full in the PDF manual.

Z1 Robotic Arm

A 3-degree-of-freedom manipulator arm can be mounted to the B1's body via a rotating joint, adding manipulation capability on top of the quadruped's own locomotion. Contact us for integration details.

3-DOF armBody-mounted

Ouster LiDAR

A full install walkthrough is documented: cloning ouster-ros into a third_party workspace folder, setting the sensor's static IP, and a sample ouster.launch configuring the sensor hostname and UDP destination. Verify with roslaunch ouster_ros ouster.launch viz:=true.

ouster-rosStatic IP setup
Unitree B1 with Z1 robotic arm mount point
Z1 arm mount point
Ouster LiDAR unit used in the B1 field upgrade
Ouster LiDAR upgrade unit

Both upgrades require workspace-level software changes beyond the base install — full command sequences and the sample ouster.launch XML are in the PDF manual.

Resources

Manuals, ROS docs & robot description

Everything published for the B1 so far — the manufacturer's own manuals, the MYBOTSHOP manual, the SDK repository, and the robot description package.

Official Unitree B1 User Manual

PDF · Unitree · via MYBOTSHOP-hosted mirror

The manufacturer's own B1 user manual, plus the Unitree GitHub SDK repository and manufacturer's own (Chinese-language) documentation portal for deeper reference.

Open manual → unitree_ros on GitHub →

MYBOTSHOP B1 User Manual

PDF · ROS setup, quick start, network & package reference

A single self-contained manual: ROS Melodic/Noetic install walkthrough, quick start, network & app setup, the full QRE B1 ROS package reference, and the Z1 arm / Ouster LiDAR field-upgrade procedures.

Download PDF

B1 Robot Description (URDF)

.zip · b1_description ROS package · 12-DOF leg model · ~9 MB

The b1_description package — URDF, Collada visual meshes and package.xml — the same model rendered live in the viewer above. Drop it into a ROS workspace or RViz. Note: this package's package.xml declares a Proprietary license; check with support@quadruped.de before redistributing it further.

Download package (.zip)

Looking for the low-level driver, the camera package, or navigation/localization files? None are published yet — ask us directly.

Support

If something goes wrong

Two steps, in order — the forum first for fast community and staff triage, then a direct ticket if it needs to go further.

1
Fastest

MYBOTSHOP Forum

Open a topic on the MYBOTSHOP Forum for community and staff triage — most software questions and known issues get resolved here first. For code-level bugs, GitHub Issues, StackOverflow and Answers-ROS are also in play.

2

Direct ticket & RMA

If it's unresolved, email support@quadruped.de with the problem description and what's already been tried. For hardware issues we'll issue an RMA number and return instructions — returns without an RMA number are auto-rejected.

RMA returns ship to: QUADRUPED Robotics GmbH c/o MYBOTSHOP GmbH, Willy-Messerschmitt-Strasse 12, 50126 Bergheim, Germany.

Need a hand?

We're here for the whole deployment

Fleet rollout, a field upgrade, or a question about a specific ROS package — the MYBOTSHOP team can help.

support@quadruped.de