Watch: Humanoid robots learn new tricks as students push open-source AI to the limit
Korean firm ROBOTIS has launched the Open Humanoid GYM Project, an open-source program giving students hands-on experience developing behaviors for humanoid robots.
The initiative uses its AI Sapiens K1 platform and DYNAMIXEL components, allowing university and graduate students to explore robot development through simulation and real-world testing.
During the program, participants created and deployed a range of full-body behaviors, demonstrating how open platforms can support experimentation in humanoid robotics.
The project highlights ROBOTIS' effort to make humanoid development and Physical AI more accessible, while giving emerging researchers practical experience with designing, training, testing, and transferring robotic behaviors from simulation to physical machines.
Open-source humanoid training
Seoul-based ROBOTIS is aiming to create an open development environment where students, researchers, and developers can experiment with humanoid robotics, from motion generation and simulation to AI training and real-world deployment.
At the center of the initiative is the ROBOTIS Open Humanoid, an open-source platform designed to provide access to the hardware and software foundations needed to develop new humanoid capabilities. The project covers multiple layers of the robotics stack, including mechanical design, software, simulation environments, motion development, and AI-based training.
A key part of the initiative is OH! GYM!, or Open Humanoid GYM, which is designed to train participants to develop behaviors for ROBOTIS humanoid robots . Rather than focusing solely on theoretical instruction, the program gives participants access to humanoid robots and development environments while pairing them with industry engineers for technical mentoring.
Its AI Sapiens K1 platform provides the humanoid hardware and development foundation, while DYNAMIXEL components provide the networked actuation needed to control the robot's joints and execute coordinated movements. Participants can first develop behaviors in simulation , working on areas such as motion generation, reward functions, and control policies before transferring them to a physical robot.
Real-world execution then provides data on how the robot performs, including successful movements and failures, allowing students to refine their policies through repeated testing. This simulation-to-real workflow lets participants experiment with different movements and control strategies while reducing the cost and risk of testing every iteration directly on hardware. The process combines hardware, software, AI training, simulation, and data collection into a hands-on humanoid development cycle.
Humanoid skills pipeline
The first OH! GYM cohort ran from July 21 to August 21 and brought together selected teams from universities including Gachon University, Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and SeoulTech. Participants developed different humanoid behaviors as part of their training. One Gachon University Graduate School team, for example, focused on an obstacle-running application, exploring how a humanoid could execute movements while dealing with obstacles in its path.
The project also extends beyond individual development exercises. ROBOTIS has created OH! Seminar! as an open forum for sharing humanoid robotics technology through technical talks, industry interaction, company tours, and development experiences with engineers. The aim is to expose students, researchers, and companies to practical aspects of humanoid development while encouraging collaboration around the open platform.
Another component, OH! Challenge!, is intended to connect the technologies developed through OH! GYM with real-world humanoid competitions. ROBOTIS plans to provide participants with opportunities to take their projects into competitive environments, including events involving fighting, marathon running, obstacle courses, and soccer.
Together, the three initiatives form a development pipeline: OH! GYM provides hands-on training and experimentation, OH! Seminar facilitates technical knowledge sharing, and OH! Challenge provides a route for developed technologies to be tested in competitive settings.
By combining open-source development resources with physical humanoid hardware, simulation, AI training, data collection, and industry mentoring, ROBOTIS is positioning the OH! Project as a platform for developing the technical skills and software needed to advance humanoid robotics.
