Hugging Face Inc. and its subsidiary Pollen Robotics opened pre-orders on August 27 for Microduck, a $399 open-source bipedal robot shaped like a duck, generating $2.6 million in orders within 24 hours and creating a backlog3,5.
The 25-centimeter, sub-800-gram robot is built around 15 motors and equipped with a camera, LiDAR depth sensor, two inertial measurement units, and an articulated beak capable of picking up small objects1,2,6. Out of the box, Microduck can follow a laser pointer and respond to gamepad control. Video demos show it picking up socks and markers, kicking a ball, and rolling on tiny skates11.
The hardware platform is designed for reinforcement learning and sim-to-real experimentation. Pollen Robotics said developers can train behaviors in simulation and deploy them directly onto the robot, then fine-tune and re-deploy. The full software stack, covering robot control, simulation, and RL training, is available on GitHub. Pollen Robotics has released separate repositories for the SDK and robot software and for its reinforcement-learning and sim-to-real tools.
"Welcome to the era of open-source affordable robots to democratize physical AI and world models!" said Clement Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face Inc.. Delangue described Microduck as "an open-source robot you can teach new tricks with reinforcement learning".
Additional onboard specs include 32 GB of storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a built-in microphone and speaker, and approximately one hour of battery life per charge. Each robot's voice can be customized. Microduck is offered in cream, graphite, lavender, and sky blue.
Pollen Robotics plans to begin shipping before Christmas 2026 in North America, Europe, and the U.K.. The robot is manufactured by Shenzhen-based Seeed Studio12.
Hugging Face Inc. acquired Pollen Robotics in April 2025 to build affordable, open-source AI hardware. The two previously launched Reachy Mini, a desktop robot powered by Raspberry Pi that sells for $499, and Reachy Mini Lite, a $399 variant powered by a Mac or PC. Microduck is Pollen Robotics' second robot product under Hugging Face Inc. ownership.
ANALYSIS Pricing Microduck at $399 with an open RL stack positions it as a low-barrier entry point for physical-AI experimentation, a category where most capable hardware platforms cost significantly more. The $2.6 million in first-day orders and resulting backlog indicate demand for accessible embodied-AI development tools extends well beyond academic labs.
Separately, Investor's Business Daily reported that Hugging Face Inc. is reportedly an Nvidia Corp. takeover target, though no further details were provided in the excerpt10. Nvidia Corp. is an existing backer of Hugging Face Inc.