If you’ve ever found yourself staring at the ceiling at 3 AM, pondering the exact grade of neodymium required for a humanoid robot’s actuator, your oddly specific prayers have finally been answered. Enter Robodienst: a startlingly comprehensive, entirely free, and frankly obsessive interactive encyclopedia of the humanoid robotics industry. It’s the kind of deep-dive data visualisation that makes tech journalists weak at the knees.
The platform, hosted at robodienst.com, allows users to virtually strip down more than 40 different humanoid robots in full 3D—ranging from the poster boys of the industry to obscure open-source projects you’ve likely never heard of. You can click on any individual component to inspect its materials and manufacturing pedigree, or lose an afternoon to interactive explainers that reveal the inner workings of motors and gearboxes. The site even maps the labyrinthine supply chain behind these machines, tracing parts back to 291 mines and factories worldwide and simulating how a single bottleneck can send shockwaves through the entire sector. All of this is underpinned by a rigorous library of over 3,100 published sources.
The mastermind behind the project, Stevy Vng, built the tool to solve his own frustration with the fragmented nature of industry data. For a free product, the feature set is bordering on the ridiculous. Users can jump into an “Actuator Lab” to prototype their own virtual joints, browse a historical archive of over 60 supply chain crises dating back to 1978, and pore over market share data. The current stats are eye-opening: the top five manufacturers—all of which are Chinese—accounted for a staggering 86% of all humanoid shipments in the first half of this year.
Why does this matter?
Robodienst demystifies an industry that has traditionally been notoriously opaque and gated by massive capital requirements. By making high-level engineering and supply chain intelligence accessible to everyone from university students to city analysts, it levels the playing field. While the core platform remains free, Vng plans to bankroll the project through intensive, small-group workshops—kicking off with hands-on sessions to dismantle a real Unitree G1—and an exclusive online community. This isn’t just a digital curiosity; it’s a powerhouse of market intelligence that could significantly lower the barrier to entry for the next generation of British roboticists.