Hugging Face

Robotics · AI Hardware · Open-Source

Launch

Hugging Face launches $399 open-source Microduck robot

The tiny biped doubles as a hands-on reinforcement-learning testbed, letting developers train real hardware behavior cheaply outside a lab.

• Hugging Face's robotics arm Pollen Robotics unveiled Microduck, a $399 pre-order biped robot set to ship before Christmas 2026.
• Pollen Robotics, the French robotics startup Hugging Face acquired in April 2025, previously launched the Reachy Mini desktop robot, which has shipped more than 10,000 units.
• Microduck stands 25 cm tall, weighs under 800 g, and packs 15 motors, a camera, LiDAR, two IMUs, and an articulated beak that can grip small objects.
• The robot's SDK, physics simulator, and full reinforcement-learning training stack are open-source on GitHub, though the physical hardware design itself is not.
• Each Microduck generates its own unique synthesized voice the first time it wakes up, and it keeps that voice for life, according to Pollen Robotics.
• Pricing a capable reinforcement-learning platform at $399 lowers the barrier for hobbyists and researchers to experiment with real-world robot learning outside costly lab setups.