Microduck is a new open-source biped robot from Pollen Robotics and Hugging Face. It stands about 25 cm tall and costs $399 at launch. The design aims to make reinforcement learning accessible for everyday users and students.
The robot comes with 15 actuators and a full set of sensors. These include a camera, speaker, LiDAR, NFC, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Users can train custom behaviors through simulation before moving policies to the real hardware.
Companionship Like a Pet
Microduck offers a form of companionship similar to owning a small pet. It can walk, sit, and even pick up objects with its beak. Owners might find daily interaction rewarding as they teach new skills over time.
Unlike a living pet, the robot needs no food or walks outside. It fits on a desk and weighs under 800 g. This makes it practical for apartments or offices where space is limited.
How It Differs From Other Robots
Microduck stands out from closed systems like the Disney biped. It runs plain Rust services that talk over Unix sockets. This approach supports failure isolation without heavy frameworks.
The full software stack for simulation and training is public. Anyone can inspect or modify the code. Early users have already ported navigation models and shared them on Hugging Face.
Hugging Face and NVIDIA Ties
Hugging Face positions Microduck as part of its push to bring robotics to more people. The company has ties to NVIDIA through shared AI tooling and model hosting. This connection helps users move trained policies from cloud GPUs to the physical robot.
The partnership lowers barriers for researchers who already use Hugging Face models. It also opens doors for hobbyists who want to experiment with reinforcement learning without building hardware from scratch.
Paths Forward / Looking Ahead
Deliveries are planned before Christmas 2026. Pre-orders are open now for those who want to join early testing. The platform could become a standard testbed for sim-to-real research if enough users contribute new behaviors.
Interest from places like Australia, Turkey, and China shows demand beyond the initial markets. Shipping logistics will matter for global adoption. Success here may encourage more companies to release affordable open hardware.
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