Bimanual Data Collection

Pre-session safety check

Clear the shared workspace between both arms (1.5 m × 1 m). Verify both arms reach the shared workspace without collision. Test E-stop before recording. See Safety page.

Connect and verify both arms

# Verify serial ports are available
ls /dev/ttyACM*
# Expected: /dev/ttyACM0 (leader) and /dev/ttyACM1 (follower)

# Quick connection test
python -m lerobot.scripts.control_robot \
  --robot.type=bi_dk1_follower \
  --robot.config=~/.lerobot/robots/dk1_bimanual.yaml \
  --control.type=none

Verify camera feeds

Both cameras must be streaming before starting LeRobot. A missing camera will silently produce episodes with null image frames.

python3 -c "
import cv2
for i in [0, 2]:
    cap = cv2.VideoCapture(i)
    if cap.isOpened():
        ret, frame = cap.read()
        print(f'Camera {i}: OK ({frame.shape[1]}x{frame.shape[0]})')
    else:
        print(f'Camera {i}: FAILED')
    cap.release()
"

Move arms to starting position

Manually move the leader arm to the starting teleop position. The follower arm will mirror it. Hold the leader arm steady for 2–3 seconds to confirm synchronization before the warmup period starts.

Set up the task scene

Place objects in consistent starting positions for both arms. Photograph the starting configuration. For bimanual tasks, mark exact positions with tape — scene consistency is even more critical because both arm trajectories must be compatible.

Start bimanual LeRobot recording

source ~/.venvs/dk1/bin/activate
python -m lerobot.scripts.control_robot \
  --robot.type=bi_dk1_follower \
  --robot.config=~/.lerobot/robots/dk1_bimanual.yaml \
  --control.type=record \
  --control.fps=30 \
  --control.repo_id=your-username/dk1-bimanual-pick-place-v1 \
  --control.num_episodes=50 \
  --control.single_task="Pick up block with left arm, place in bin with right arm" \
  --control.warmup_time_s=5 \
  --control.reset_time_s=15

Use a longer reset_time_s for bimanual tasks — resetting two arms and the scene takes more time than single-arm setups.

Review and replay episodes

After each batch of 10 episodes, replay and review before continuing. Pay attention to arm coordination — lag between left and right arms will appear as jitter in the follower's movements.

python -m lerobot.scripts.visualize_dataset \
  --repo_id=your-username/dk1-bimanual-pick-place-v1 \
  --episode_index=0

Push to HuggingFace Hub

huggingface-cli login
python -m lerobot.scripts.push_dataset_to_hub \
  --repo_id=your-username/dk1-bimanual-pick-place-v1