A graphical interface for manual joint control of the Unitree G1 humanoid robot, built as an extension to the TWIST2 teleoperation system.
This tool allows you to select target joint positions via sliders, which TWIST2's balance controller will follow while maintaining the robot's stability.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| 29-DOF Joint Control | Direct slider control of all Unitree G1 joints with real-time feedback |
| Pose Management | Save, load, and organize robot poses in YAML format |
| Scene Creator | Create animated motion sequences with configurable interpolation and hold times |
| Symmetric Mode | Automatically mirror left-side joint movements to the right side |
| Real-time Publishing | 50Hz Redis publishing for immediate robot response |
| Joint Limits | Built-in safety limits from the G1 URDF specification |
The GUI organizes the 29 degrees of freedom into intuitive groups:
- Left Leg (6 DOF): Hip pitch/roll/yaw, knee, ankle pitch/roll
- Right Leg (6 DOF): Hip pitch/roll/yaw, knee, ankle pitch/roll
- Waist (3 DOF): Yaw, roll, pitch
- Left Arm (7 DOF): Shoulder pitch/roll/yaw, elbow, wrist roll/pitch/yaw
- Right Arm (7 DOF): Shoulder pitch/roll/yaw, elbow, wrist roll/pitch/yaw
- TWIST2 installed and configured
- Redis server running (
redis-server) - Python 3.8 environment (conda or venv)
- tkinter - Python GUI library (
sudo apt install python3.8-tkorconda install tk) - TWIST2 low-level server running (for real robot control or simulation)
See docs/INSTALLATION.md for detailed setup instructions.
git clone https://github.com/luizmgoncw/twist2-gui-controller.git
cd twist2-gui-controller# Activate your twist2 environment (choose one):
conda activate twist2 # For conda users
# OR
source /path/to/venv3.8/bin/activate # For venv users
# Install Python dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Install tkinter (if not already installed)
sudo apt install python3.8-tk # For Ubuntu/Debian
# OR
conda install tk # For conda usersTerminal 1 - Start TWIST2 (choose one):
cd /path/to/TWIST2
source /path/to/venv3.8/bin/activate # or: conda activate twist2
# For simulation:
bash sim2sim.sh
# OR for real robot:
bash sim2real.shTerminal 2 - Launch the GUI controller:
# Make sure Redis is running
redis-server --daemonize yes
# Run the GUI
cd twist2-gui-controller
bash scripts/run_gui_controller.shThe GUI will communicate with TWIST2 via Redis, sending target joint positions that TWIST2's controller will track while maintaining balance.
- Use sliders to adjust individual joint angles
- Values are displayed in both radians and degrees
- TWIST2 controller receives target positions and maintains robot balance
- Adjust joints to desired position
- Enter a name in "Pose Name" field
- Click Save Pose
- Load saved poses with Load Pose button
Create animated motion sequences:
- Save several poses first
- In Scene Creator panel, select a pose from dropdown
- Set Hold time (pause at pose) and Interp time (transition duration)
- Click + Add Step to add to sequence
- Use Play to execute the scene, Loop for continuous playback
Enable "Symmetric" checkbox to automatically mirror:
- Left leg movements → Right leg
- Left arm movements → Right arm
Note: Roll joints are automatically negated for proper mirroring.
This GUI integrates with TWIST2's two-process architecture:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ High-Level Control │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ VR Teleoperation │ Motion Library │ GUI Controller │
│ (PICO headset) │ (pre-recorded) │ (this tool) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
Redis (50-100Hz)
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Low-Level Control │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Policy Inference (ONNX) │ Robot Control (Unitree G1) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The GUI publishes joint targets to Redis key action_body_unitree_g1_with_hands, which the low-level server reads to control the robot.
The examples/ directory includes pre-made poses:
| Pose | Description |
|---|---|
em_pe |
Standing position |
semi_agachado |
Semi-crouched position |
tchau_direita/esquerda |
Waving gestures |
olhada_direita/esquerda |
Looking left/right |
maos_juntas |
Hands together |
its_fact |
Expressive gesture |
This project extends the excellent TWIST2 system developed by researchers at Stanford University.
- Repository: amazon-far/TWIST2
- Paper: arXiv:2511.02832
- Authors: Yanjie Ze, Siheng Zhao, Weizhuo Wang, Angjoo Kanazawa, Rocky Duan, Pieter Abbeel, Guanya Shi, Jiajun Wu, C. Karen Liu
If you use this tool in your research, please cite both projects:
@misc{marques2026twist2gui,
title={TWIST2 GUI Controller: A Graphical Interface for Humanoid Joint Control},
author={Marques, Luiz},
year={2026},
url={https://github.com/luizmgoncw/twist2-gui-controller}
}
@article{ze2025twist2,
title={TWIST2: Scalable, Portable, and Holistic Humanoid Data Collection System},
author={Ze, Yanjie and Zhao, Siheng and Wang, Weizhuo and Kanazawa, Angjoo and Duan, Rocky and Abbeel, Pieter and Shi, Guanya and Wu, Jiajun and Liu, C. Karen},
year={2025},
journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.02832}
}This project is licensed under the MIT License - see LICENSE for details.
TWIST2 is also MIT licensed. See NOTICE.md for full attribution.
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add amazing feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature) - Open a Pull Request
See docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md for common issues and solutions.
Quick fixes:
- Redis not connected: Start Redis with
redis-server - GUI won't launch: Ensure
twist2environment is activated (conda or venv) - Robot not moving: Check that TWIST2 low-level server is running
Built with tkinter and Redis for the Unitree G1 humanoid robot.