Meet 'Microduck', a Small Friend for Your Desk, the $399 Robot

Imagine this: You return home after work, sit at your desk, and a small duck-shaped robot greets you by singing a song or moving simple items on your desk. It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but this robot is now a reality. This is the story of ‘Microduck’, recently introduced by ‘Hugging Face’, a company at the heart of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Hugging Face is one of the most active companies in the AI field. They jumped into robotics development in earnest after acquiring the French robotics startup ‘Pollen Robotics’ in April 2025 [Source 6, Source 13]. The newly launched Microduck is one of the first fruits of that effort, created to help developers and makers more easily access robotics technology [Source 2, Source 3].

Why is this important?

Until now, the robots we imagined were usually expensive and complex machines found in factories or laboratories. However, Hugging Face aims for robots that ‘anyone can handle’ [Source 2]. Launched at a relatively accessible price of $399 (approx. 500,000 KRW), this little friend shows that robots don’t have to be the exclusive property of experts; they can be beings that play and learn with us in our daily lives [Source 6].

Simply put, this provides a valuable opportunity to experience how AI will interact with the physical world around us, rather than just staying inside computer screens. To use a metaphor, Microduck is the first actor to step down onto the ‘stage’ of our daily lives, possessing an intelligent ‘brain’ called AI.

Easy to understand: How does Microduck get smarter?

To help understand Microduck, let’s use another very simple analogy. Microduck is like a ‘young puppy’. Just as you teach a new puppy basic behaviors like ‘sit’ and ‘paw’ when you first bring it home, users can personally educate Microduck to help it acquire new skills [Source 3, Source 8].

This robot is shaped like a duck capable of bipedal walking. Through programming, users can make it sing, have it hold and move small objects in its beak, or even have it ride a roller-skate [Source 9]. It doesn’t just perform pre-set motions; users can personally design and adjust the robot’s behavior, raising it as ‘my own robot’ [Source 2].

Additionally, for those who want to experience it before buying, there is an online virtual simulator space. Utilizing Hugging Face’s ‘Space’ feature, users can practice Microduck’s movements in a virtual environment even without a physical robot, making it very friendly for beginners [Source 7].

Current Status: What can it do so far?

Currently, Microduck is evaluated as the most suitable tool for students who want to learn AI, hobbyists who enjoy making, and AI builders exploring robotics [Source 2, Source 9]. It is capable of actions like singing or moving small props, and it is designed to be continuously updated with new features and training based on user feedback [Source 9].

However, there is one important point to remember. It is not at the level of having human-like conversations and making perfect judgments as seen in movies. It is at a stage where active configuration and programming by the user are required to reach its full potential. In other words, the structure is one where the robot doesn’t do things on its own, but grows through collaboration with the user.

What’s next?

The collaboration between Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics looks set to become even more exciting. The two companies have already consistently researched how AI communicates with the physical world by introducing open-source robots like ‘Reachy Mini’ [Source 1, Source 10, Source 11].

Building on the success of Microduck, more low-cost, high-efficiency open-source robots with various functions will continue to emerge in the future. Might the day come when we can download a robot that helps with housework from the Hugging Face platform and apply it to our own robots? A future where we download robot capabilities just like we download apps from a computer is slowly becoming a reality, starting with Microduck.

References

1. Pollen Robotics - Hugging Face

2. [Pollen Robotics - Robots for AI builders

   Pollen Robotics](https://pollen-robotics.com/)

3. GitHub - pollen-robotics/microduck: A Tiny biped duck robot
4. Hugging Face debuts $399 Microduck waddling robot
5. Microduck Sandbox - a Hugging Face Space by pollen-robotics

6. [Microduck- A tiny biped robot you can teach new…

   Pollen Robotics](https://pollen-robotics.com/microduck/)

7. HuggingFace представила второго… — Техника на vc.ru
8. HuggingFace launches HopeJR and Reachy Mini robots for €3000
9. HuggingFace unveils affordable humanoid robots for AI development
10. Revolutionary Acquisition: Hugging Face Unveils Groundbreaking…
11. HuggingFace bridges gap between AI and physical world with Pollen…
12. Exciting News: Pollen Robotics is Joining Hugging Face!