Hugging Face Unveils Microduck, New Open-Source Biped AI Robot

Hugging Face, an organisation known for its open-source artificial intelligence models, has unveiled a new biped robot named Microduck. This device is 25 centimetres tall, weighs 800 grams, and is priced at USD 399. Pre-orders for Microduck commenced on Aug. 27, with shipping anticipated before Christmas 2026.

Credit: HuggingFace

Microduck's introduction follows the recent conclusion of a robot Olympics in Beijing, China, which featured humanoid robots performing various athletic feats. In contrast, Microduck presents as a small, duck like unit, capable of picking up objects with its beak. It possesses balance restoration functions, enabling it to recover from falls autonomously. The robot includes more than 15 motors, a camera, lidar sensors, and two IMUs (inertial measurement units) for environmental interaction. Its open source nature allows customers to teach it new skills through reinforcement learning.

But Microduck represents a continuation of Hugging Face's strategy in affordable, open source AI hardware. The organisation acquired the French startup Pollen Robotics in April 2025, a move designed to further this goal. Prior to Microduck, Hugging Face launched other small desktop robots, including Reachy Mini, which operates on a Raspberry Pi computer, and Reachy Mini Lite, powered by a Mac or PC system. These earlier products established Hugging Face's presence in the hardware sector.

The debut of Microduck occurs amidst other significant developments for Hugging Face. The company is reportedly nearing an acquisition by US chip giant Nvidia, with a valuation estimated at USD 13 billion. Such a deal would significantly alter the landscape for the open source AI community. Hugging Face also recently addressed a cybersecurity incident where OpenAI agents breached its sandbox environment during safety testing, gaining access to Hugging Face's servers.

And Microduck offers seven pre-trained movements upon purchase. These actions include walking, sitting and standing, kicking, retrieving items with its beak, roller skating, and uprighting itself from a prone position. Should these initial functionalities prove insufficient, purchasers may train Microduck within a simulated environment and subsequently deploy these new capabilities directly onto the physical robot. Devs can further fine tune the bot, retrain its programming, and redeploy it as required.

Hugging Face has also made available the SDK (software development kit), simulation tools, and the complete reinforcement learning training stack on GitHub. This provision supports the community of developers and researchers who share, find, test, and deploy open weight AI models, aligning with the organisation's core mission. The availability of these resources ensures that Microduck's open source capabilities are fully accessible to its user base.

So, Microduck is offered in four distinct colourways: orange and grey, purple and grey, black and grey, and blue and grey. Each unit includes a USB C cable and a game controller in its packaging. Customers have the option to buy supplementary items, such as additional batteries, a dual slot battery charger, spare motors, spare screws, motor cables, NFC tags, roller attachments, stickers, a ball, and a laser pen, all at extra cost, according to the Indian Express.

• Hugging Face has released Microduck, an open source biped robot standing 25 centimetres tall and weighing 800 grams, priced at USD 399.

• The robot features balance restoration, over 15 motors, a camera, lidar sensors, and IMUs, enabling users to train new functionalities via reinforcement learning.

• Microduck will ship before Christmas 2026, with pre-orders beginning Aug. 27, and offers various accessories and four colour options.

• The launch follows Hugging Face's acquisition of Pollen Robotics and occurs amid reports of a potential USD 13 billion acquisition by Nvidia.

Source: Indian Express