Hugging Face Launches $399 Open-Source Microduck Robot

Hugging Face, the artificial intelligence platform known for its open-source model hub, has expanded its hardware offerings with the launch of the Microduck, a small, programmable robot designed for developers and hobbyists. The company unveiled the device on August 27, 2026, with preorders available for $399 and shipments expected before Christmas.

The Microduck is a 25-centimeter-tall, duck-like robot developed in collaboration with Pollen Robotics, a French startup Hugging Face acquired in April 2025. It is powered by a Raspberry Pi and equipped with a camera, LiDAR sensors, microphones, a speaker, and two inertial measurement units. The robot can perform several pre-trained behaviors out of the box, including waddling, crouching, roller-skating, and picking up objects up to 800 grams with its beak. It also features the ability to recover from falls.

Central to the product is its fully open-source software stack. The development kit, simulation environment, and reinforcement learning training code are published on GitHub under an Apache 2.0 license. This allows users to train new behaviors in a virtual simulation and then deploy them directly onto the physical robot, a...