Rainbow Robotics RB-Y1 Wheeled Humanoid

A Humanoid Designed to Move on Wheels

RB-Y1 is best understood as a humanoid-style mobile manipulator rather than a conventional legged humanoid. It has two articulated arms and a human-like working arrangement, but its lower body consists of a single articulated support mechanism mounted on a wheeled platform. This design allows it to move efficiently across level floors without having to solve the difficult balance, impact and energy problems associated with bipedal walking.

Its 6-DoF central mechanism performs some of the role that a person’s waist, hips, knees and ankles would perform. It can change the height and angle of the upper body, extend the robot’s working range and shift its centre of gravity during movement. Rainbow Robotics reports more than 500 mm of vertical adjustment, allowing the arms to reach objects at different heights without relying only on shoulder and elbow motion. The standard mobile platform reaches a published speed of 1.5 m/s, while an optional Mecanum-wheel configuration adds multidirectional movement for confined laboratories and industrial spaces.

Built for AI, Teleoperation and Robot Learning

RB-Y1 is supplied as a development platform rather than a finished autonomous worker with a fixed set of behaviours. Researchers can access its arms, articulated body and mobile base through official Python and C++ APIs. Rainbow Robotics also provides robot models, simulation tools and ROS 2 resources, making it possible to develop and test controllers before transferring them to the physical robot.

One of its most notable options is the 14-DoF master arm. An operator moves this separate teaching device, and the corresponding motion can be transferred to RB-Y1. This supports real-time teleoperation while also helping researchers collect human demonstration data for imitation learning. Rainbow Robotics has additionally demonstrated touchpad, joystick and virtual-reality control methods.

The software architecture separates safety-critical robot control from the user’s application computer. High-level software can therefore handle perception, task planning or AI inference while the internal robot controller manages lower-level motion. This modular arrangement makes RB-Y1 suitable for developing learned manipulation, mobile pick-and-place, vision-based control and coordinated whole-body behaviours.

Research and Potential Workplace Applications

RB-Y1 can be used to investigate tasks that are difficult for fixed single-arm robots. Its mobile base allows it to move between work areas, while the two arms can hold an object with one gripper and manipulate it with the other. Demonstrations have included cup stacking, pouring liquids and coordinated manipulation, but these should be treated as demonstrated capabilities rather than guaranteed ready-to-deploy applications.

Potential areas include two-handed assembly, parts handling, laboratory automation, machine tending, inspection, logistics research and mobile service tasks. The combination of accurate arms and an adjustable body also allows researchers to test manipulation across shelves, benches and equipment positioned at different heights.

However, RB-Y1 still requires application-specific software, sensors, end effectors and safety engineering. A vision camera is not included in the standard specification, autonomous navigation functionality depends on the selected hardware and software configuration, and the manufacturer does not publish a collaborative safety certification for unrestricted operation beside people. It is therefore more accurate to present RB-Y1 as a highly configurable research and integration platform than as a general-purpose autonomous worker delivered ready for any workplace.