# Guides for robot builders.

Source: https://checkmatedynamics.com/guides.html

Guides | Updated November 10, 2026

Answers to the questions builders ask before they buy. Each guide compares the real options, names the alternatives with their sources and dates, and says where our products fit and where they do not.

**01** Guides

## [Build a teleoperation rig for robot training data](https://checkmatedynamics.com/build-a-teleoperation-rig.html)

The five parts of a data-collection rig, and four ways to build the leader arm: SO-101, GELLO, Franka GELLO and the Checkmate Leader.

## [Sync cameras and joint data to one clock](https://checkmatedynamics.com/sync-cameras-and-joints.html)

Why timestamps drift, three ways to deal with it, and how to measure the skew on your own rig.

## [Choose a smart actuator for a robot arm](https://checkmatedynamics.com/smart-actuator-for-a-robot-arm.html)

Torque, backlash, encoder and bus for Dynamixel, Feetech, CubeMars, MyActuator and SmartServo G, and a closed-loop NEMA 17 you can script.

## [A cycloidal gearbox for a NEMA 17 stepper](https://checkmatedynamics.com/cycloidal-gearbox-for-nema-17.html)

Planetary, harmonic and cycloidal reducers for NEMA 17 compared, with list prices and backlash.

Competitor figures were read on the dates shown in each guide and may have changed. Checkmate products are shown before FCC authorization; see [Legal](https://checkmatedynamics.com/legal.html#fcc).

Related: [Products](https://checkmatedynamics.com/products.html) · [Makers](https://checkmatedynamics.com/makers.html) · [Stations](https://checkmatedynamics.com/stations.html)