● Covered by 6 sources · 6 reportsLow impact5 neutral1 positive
Pollen Robotics and Hugging Face launch Microduck, an open-source, retrainable robot
Key points
- Microduck is a small, retrainable robot.
- Behaviors are trained in physics simulation and deployed on the robot.
- The SDK, simulation, and RL training stack are open source.
- Seven pre-shipped policies are included and retrainable.
- Microduck is 10 inches tall.
- Microduck costs $399.
- Microduck ships by late 2026.
- Microduck has unique generated voices.
- Microduck can pick up socks and markers.
- Microduck can kick a ball.
- Microduck can react to surroundings.
- Microduck can follow a laser pointer.
- Microduck can be controlled with a game controller.
- Pollen Robotics launched Microduck.
- Microduck is 25cm tall.
- Microduck weighs under 800g.
- Microduck has 15 motors.
- Microduck has a built-in camera.
- Microduck has a LiDAR sensor.
- Microduck has two IMUs.
- Microduck has an articulated beak.
- Microduck can pick up objects with its beak.
- Microduck can walk, sit, crouch, and get up from falls.
- Microduck was imagined as a more action-oriented alternative to Reachy Mini.
- Hugging Face acquired Pollen Robotics in April 2025.
- Microduck ships before Christmas.
- Microduck is available for pre-order.
- Microduck is bipedal.
- Microduck can waddle.
- Microduck can use roller-skates.
- Microduck is available in North America and Europe.
- Pollen Robotics still sells Reachy 2.
- Microduck sold over 10,000 units since Thursday.
- Microduck sales earned over $4 million.
- Microduck uses a Rockchip RK3566 processor.
- Rockchip RK3566 incorporates technology licensed from ARM.
Introducing Microduck
Pollen Robotics, in partnership with Hugging Face, has introduced Microduck, a compact robot designed for hands-on reinforcement learning. The robot is presented as an accessible platform for developing and deploying new behaviors.
Retrainable Behaviors
A core feature of Microduck is its retrainability. Users can train new behaviors in a physics simulation environment, either on their local machine or using Hugging Face Jobs. These trained policies can then be directly deployed onto the physical Microduck robot. The process supports iterative refinement, allowing users to tune, retrain, and redeploy behaviors.
Open-Source Ecosystem
The entire software stack for Microduck is open source, licensed under Apache-2.0. This includes the Software Development Kit (SDK), the simulation environment, and the full reinforcement learning training stack, all available on GitHub. The robot runs on this open-source software, enabling users to read, fork, and modify its code. MuJoCo is used as the physics simulation engine for policy training.
Included Policies and Customization
Microduck ships with seven pre-programmed behaviors, or policies, which are also published and retrainable by the community. These include actions like walking, sitting, standing, kicking, grabbing, roller skating (when equipped), and self-righting. The robot is available in four different colorways, offering a choice in its physical appearance while maintaining the same underlying hardware and software.
Updates
- Microduck sold over 10,000 units since Thursday.
- Microduck sales earned over $4 million.
- Microduck uses a Rockchip RK3566 processor.
- Rockchip RK3566 incorporates technology licensed from ARM.
- Microduck is available for pre-order.
- Microduck is bipedal.
- Microduck can waddle.
- Microduck can use roller-skates.
- Microduck is available in North America and Europe.
- Pollen Robotics still sells Reachy 2.
- Microduck is 10 inches tall.
- Microduck costs $399.
- Microduck ships by late 2026.
- Microduck has unique generated voices.
- Microduck can pick up socks and markers.
- Microduck can kick a ball.
- Microduck can react to surroundings.
- Microduck can follow a laser pointer.
- Microduck can be controlled with a game controller.
- Pollen Robotics launched Microduck.
- Microduck is 25cm tall.
- Microduck weighs under 800g.
- Microduck has 15 motors.
- Microduck has a built-in camera.
- Microduck has a LiDAR sensor.
- Microduck has two IMUs.
- Microduck has an articulated beak.
- Microduck can pick up objects with its beak.
- Microduck can walk, sit, crouch, and get up from falls.
- Microduck was imagined as a more action-oriented alternative to Reachy Mini.
- Hugging Face acquired Pollen Robotics in April 2025.
- Microduck ships before Christmas.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Primary sources
GitHub pollen-robotics/microduck GitHub pollen-robotics/reachy_mini GitHub pollen-robotics/microduck_rl GitHub mujocolab/mjlabHow outlets covered it
Hugging Face's French subsidiary Pollen Robotics launched the "Microduck" robot, selling over 10,000 units since Thursday, causing delivery delays. The robot uses a Rockchip RK3566 processor, highlighting the interconnectedness of global tech supply chains.
Hugging Face's Pollen Robotics has opened pre-orders for Microduck, a $399 bipedal robot designed as an open-source platform for reinforcement learning and AI development. This release provides a physical platform for developers to train robot behaviors and test AI models in real-world scenarios, following their previous stationary robot, Reachy Mini.
Hugging Face introduced Microduck, a $399 open-source robot designed for physical AI and world model development, shipping before Christmas. This release expands Hugging Face's hardware offerings, following its acquisition of Pollen Robotics, and aims to democratize access to affordable, programmable robots.
Hugging Face and its acquired company Pollen Robotics have opened pre-orders for Microduck, a $399 bipedal robot designed for mobility and AI experimentation. This robot, standing 25cm tall and weighing under 800g, features 15 motors, a camera, LiDAR, and an articulated beak, aiming to provide a more action-oriented platform for developers compared to previous stationary models.
Hugging Face's Pollen Robotics launched Microduck, a 10-inch bipedal AI robot capable of movement, object interaction, and unique generated voices. The robot, priced at $399, features open-source software for user customization and is expected to ship by late 2026.
Pollen Robotics, in collaboration with Hugging Face, has launched Microduck, a small, open-source robot designed for reinforcement learning. Users can retrain its behaviors in simulation and deploy them on the physical robot, with all software components available under an Apache-2.0 license.