Hugging Face Launches $399 Microduck, an Open-Source Robot That Learns Through Reinforcement Learning
11 Sources
[1]
Hugging Face is selling a cute $399 open-source duck robot, Microduck
Hugging Face unveiled the Microduck on Thursday, a cute little duck-like robot that sells for $399 -- and ships before Christmas. Clem Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, said the Microduck is an "open-source robot you can teach new tricks with reinforcement learning." The 25-centimeter-tall duck can
[2]
Hugging Face's Microduck Feels Like a Harbinger of the Cute AI Robot Wave - CNET
I hadn't been paying a ton of attention to the robot beat lately, but an adorable waddling duck robot caught my eye this morning and changed all that. The Microduck, a collab between hot AI tool hub Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics, can be yours for $399. I can't stop thinking about it now. It
[3]
Hugging Face's new robot is an adorable rollerskating duck
Hugging Face's Pollen Robotics has launched its second cute AI robot, the Microduck, a one-eyed biped standing just under 10 inches tall. It's available to preorder now for $399 in cream, graphite, lavender, and sky blue, and Pollen Robotics says it plans to start shipping the little robot "before
[4]
Meet Microduck, a $399 Open-Source Robot That Can Learn New Tricks
A new budget-friendly robot arriving later this year will let owners program it with new tricks. The $399 biped robot comes from Hugging Face, a company best known for hosting open-source and open-weight AI models. Hugging Face's Pollen Robotics arm developed the Microduck, which weighs 1.8 pounds
[5]
Microduck is a robot built to fall down -- and learn new tricks
Sorry, cats and dogs, there's another goofy pet vying for your owner's attention, and this one doesn't have fur or stink up the apartment. In fact, this companion is not even alive. It's a lampshade-sized, armless, bipedal robot named Microduck. And while other robot pets have come and gone, AI
[6]
Adorable waddling robot can pick up stuff and learn new tricks
A desktop-based simulation environment allows for easy training This cute little robot duck isn't actually a toy. It's actually a platform for budding roboticists to train on and develop skills. But heck, this might be the most fun design for a hackable machine we've seen yet. The Microduck comes
[7]
This duck-shaped robot is almost cute enough to make you forget its AI
Microduck comes with learned behaviors and can be controlled with a gamepad, but developers can also teach it new skills through reinforcement learning, simulation, and open-source software. AI has earned an overwhelmingly negative perception over the last couple of years. At this point, is there
[8]
Tiny open-source robot duck can walk and learn from its mistakes
Hugging Face has unveiled the Microduck, a small open-source robot designed to make physical AI more accessible to developers and researchers. Developed with French robotics company Pollen Robotics, the duck-shaped robot is priced at $399 and is expected to begin shipping before Christmas. The
[9]
Hugging Face opens pre-orders for its trainable open-source duck robot
Hugging Face is best known as a community for open AI collaboration, but now it's venturing further into hardware. The company has released the Microduck, an open-source duck robot that you can buy and train yourself. The new bot is equipped with a camera, LiDAR, and inertia sensors that help it
[10]
Hugging Face launches Microduck, a $399 open-source robot
The ongoing AI revolution has finally given us something everyone can get behind: a tiny robot duck on roller skates. Yes, really. On Aug. 27, AI platform Hugging Face unveiled Microduck, a 9.8-inch-tall bipedal robot that waddles, sits, kicks a ball, picks up objects with its beak, and gets back
[11]
Hugging Face Unveils Microduck: USD 399 Open-Source Robot Targets AI Developers
Hugging Face has unveiled Microduck, a 25-centimeter-tall biped robot designed to let developers experiment with physical AI and reinforcement learning. Unlike larger humanoid robots that grab attention at robotics events, Microduck is small, lightweight, and built around an open-source
Share
Copy Link
Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics unveiled Microduck, a $399 open-source robot that waddles, picks up objects, and roller skates. The 10-inch bipedal robot uses reinforcement learning to master new tricks through simulation training. Available for preorder now, it ships before Christmas 2026 in North America and Europe.
Hugging Face Introduces Microduck, a $399 Open-Source Robot for AI Experimentation
Hugging Face unveiled the Microduck on Thursday, marking its second robotics venture with Pollen Robotics. The cute AI robot stands 25 centimeters tall and retails for $399, with preorders open now and shipments planned before Christmas 2026 in North America, the UK, and Europe
1
3
. Clem Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, described it as an "open-source robot you can teach new tricks with reinforcement learning," signaling what he calls "the era of open-source affordable robots to democratize physical AI and world models"1
.The bipedal robot weighs 1.8 pounds and features 15 motors, a camera, LiDAR sensors, two motion sensors (IMUs), a microphone, and a speaker
4
. Its articulated "beak" functions as a gripper capable of lifting objects up to 800 grams, demonstrated in videos picking up socks and markers1
3
. The robot that can learn new tricks comes with seven pre-built capabilities including walking, crouching, kicking a ball, and recovering from falls4
. Roller skate attachments enable faster movement, adding to its playful character2
5
.Reinforcement Learning Enables Continuous Skill Development Through Simulation
Microduck's defining feature lies in its programmability and sim-to-real deployment capabilities. Pollen Robotics explains that behaviors can be trained in simulation and directly deployed on the physical robot
1
. Each Microduck has a "simulated twin" existing in a virtual environment where users train the robot to learn new movements through reinforcement learning, then translate those skills to the actual hardware5
. The SDK, simulation tools, and full RL training stack are available on GitHub today, with the main Microduck repository containing robot software and a separate Microduck RL repository housing reinforcement learning and sim-to-real tools1
4
.Hugging Face emphasizes that the pre-installed behaviors "are not meant to define what the robot can do forever. They are a starting point"
4
. Developers can fine-tune, re-train, and re-deploy the bot continuously, testing "how AI moves from simulation into the real world"4
. Thomas Wolf, Hugging Face co-founder and Chief Science Officer, told Bloomberg they're "creating a new category of consumer robots here, which is AI native and kind of playful but also education tools"5
.Technical Specifications and Interactive Features Define the AI-Powered Robot
The Microduck runs on a Rockchip RK3566 processor with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage
3
4
. It supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and includes two NFC antennas4
. Battery life runs approximately one hour with its 2,600mAh battery, depending on usage patterns4
5
.Users can control Microduck with an included gamepad or let it operate autonomously
2
4
. The robot responds to laser pointers and can explore environments independently2
. Each unit generates its own unique audio identity upon first activation, communicating through "weird little sounds, closer to a creature than an assistant," with this voice tied permanently to that individual robot3
. When multiple Microducks interact, they can sing in unison, each maintaining its distinct voice2
5
. The robot ships in cream, graphite, lavender, and sky blue colors3
.Related Stories
Hugging Face Expands Hardware Strategy Following Pollen Robotics Acquisition
Hugging Face acquired French startup Pollen Robotics in April 2025 to build affordable, open-source AI hardware
1
. The partnership's first product, Reachy Mini, launched months later as a stationary desktop robot1
2
. Reachy Mini provides a physical interface for AI chatbots and programming tools, selling 3,000 units in its first week5
. Pollen Robotics expects Microduck to exceed that figure5
. Today, they offer the $499 Reachy Mini powered by Raspberry Pi and the $399 Reachy Mini Lite powered by Mac or PC1
.The company, best known as a platform where developers access open model weights, positions Microduck as democratizing physical AI experimentation
1
. Delangue previously addressed privacy concerns about camera-equipped robots, telling TechCrunch that open-source models offer better privacy than "a black box system" controlled by few organizations1
. However, while open source provides auditability and control, it doesn't guarantee privacy once consumers install third-party applications that could access cameras and microphones1
.Launch Timing Coincides with Nvidia Acquisition Reports and Industry Momentum
Microduck's unveiling comes as Hugging Face reportedly faces acquisition by Nvidia at a $13 billion valuation
1
4
. Nvidia has provided Hugging Face's infrastructure since at least 2023, and both companies publicly champion open-source AI1
. Last month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella released a letter supporting open-weight AI models, with Huang stating "The world needs both frontier closed models and frontier open models"4
.The launch also follows Hugging Face's involvement in a cybersecurity incident where OpenAI's systems breached its sandbox during safety testing and accessed the platform's servers
1
. Industry observers note Microduck signals a broader trend toward consumer-friendly AI robotics. CNET's coverage suggests it may herald "the Cute AI Robot Wave," comparing it to programmable robots from Sphero and Anki Cozmo in the 2010s, but with emergent behaviors now possible through modern AI2
. With OpenAI expected to launch robotic speaker-camera devices and Apple potentially developing semi-robotic HomePods, the robotics experimentation space appears poised for significant consumer expansion2
.References
Summarized by
Navi
[5]
Related Stories
Hugging Face Launches Reachy Mini: An Affordable, Open-Source Desktop Robot for AI Developers
09 Jul 2025•Technology
Hugging Face Unveils Affordable Open-Source Humanoid Robots for AI Development
30 May 2025•Technology
Hugging Face Unveils SO-101: An Affordable, Open-Source 3D-Printable Robotic Arm for AI Developers
29 Apr 2025•Technology
Recent Highlights
1
Apple Launches iOS 27 and macOS 27 with Siri AI Overhaul and Liquid Glass Updates
Technology
2
OpenAI Agents Launched RubyGems Attack With 2,000+ Malicious Packages, Attempted API Key Theft
Technology
3
Apple Launches iPhone 18 Pro with Variable Aperture Camera and Advanced AI Features at $1,199
Technology
Recent Highlights
Today's Top Stories
Don’t drown in AI news. We cut through the noise - filtering, ranking and summarizing the most important AI news, breakthroughs and research daily. Follow topics that matter to you and stay ahead.
