NVIDIA and Sharpa jointly launched the Isaac Gr00t, a reference humanoid robot platform featuring the Unitree H2 Plus chassis and Sharpa Wave tactile five-finger hands integrated with NVIDIA Jetson Thor onboard computing. The platform offers a validated system that combines advanced hardware and software for humanoid robotics development [1, 2].
The Unitree H2 humanoid chassis stands nearly 6 feet tall, weighs 150 pounds, and provides 31 degrees of freedom across its body, enabling a wide range of movement. Sharpa’s Wave hands add 22 degrees of freedom with tactile dexterous manipulation capabilities. These hands feature multi-view sensing including stereo cameras mounted on the head, wrist cameras, and inertia measurement units to enhance perception and control [2].
Isaac Gr00t is powered by the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Thor T5000 platform. It features an NVIDIA Blackwell GPU, 128GB of unified memory, and configurable power consumption ranging from 40 to 130 watts. The system runs on a 15Ah battery delivering about 3 hours of endurance per charge [2].
The platform is built on NVIDIA’s open-source Gr00t software and foundational models, designed to accelerate development workflows in humanoid robotics. It integrates Sharpa’s tactile hands, Unitree’s humanoid chassis, edge computing, and development tools into one cohesive reference design [1, 2].
Alongside the Unitree H2 model, Isaac Gr00t will also support the more affordable Unitree G1 humanoid robot variant, broadening access to this development platform [2].
Several leading institutions, including Ai2, ETH Zurich, Stanford Robotics Center, and UC San Diego, have committed to using the Isaac Gr00t reference design to advance their robotics research. Steve Cousins, executive director at the Stanford Robotics Center, explained, "Robotics moves fastest when researchers can build on open platforms, share code and test ideas on real machines" [2].
NVIDIA initially revealed its Gr00t N1 foundational model in March 2026. The more comprehensive humanoid platform launch alongside Sharpa was announced in August 2026 [1, 2].
Research teams and developers can expect access to the Isaac Gr00t platform in the coming months, with the intent to foster innovation in tactile dexterous manipulation and full-body humanoid robotics through this open reference design [1, 2].
