myBuddy 280

Overview

The Elephant Robotics myBuddy 280 is a dual-arm educational robot at $1,699, featuring two 6-axis arms and a 0.25 kg payload per arm. It is designed to teach bimanual manipulation concepts including coordinated arm motion, object handover between arms, and dual-arm assembly tasks. These skills are increasingly important in robotics education as collaborative robots in industrial settings move towards dual-arm configurations for assembly and handling tasks.

myBuddy 280 stands at a desktop scale suitable for laboratory benches and classroom environments, and supports Python, ROS, and myBlockly programming. The dual-arm configuration distinguishes it from the many single-arm desktop robots at this price level.

Key Specifications

• Arms: 2 x 6-axis, 280 mm reach each
• Payload: 0.25 kg per arm
• Price: $1,699
• Programming: Python, ROS, myBlockly
• Age range: University (undergraduate and postgraduate)

Use Cases

myBuddy 280 is well suited to UK university courses covering collaborative manipulation, assembly automation, and bimanual task planning. It enables practical demonstrations of tasks that require two-handed coordination, such as opening containers, folding materials, and object inspection, which are otherwise difficult to demonstrate with single-arm platforms.

Research groups exploring learning from demonstration and imitation learning can use myBuddy 280 as a cost-accessible bimanual platform for initial algorithm development before scaling to industrial hardware.

Buying Used

A secondary market exists through online platforms. Dual-arm robots have twice as many servo joints as single-arm equivalents; buyers should verify all twelve axes of motion are smooth and accurate before purchasing used units.

Alternatives to Consider

Elephant Robotics myCobot 280 is the single-arm version at a lower price. For more capable bimanual research, Franka Research 3 pairs are available at significantly higher cost with superior stiffness and force sensing. ABB YuMi is the industrial bimanual reference platform for comparison.