TECHNOLOGY · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Hugging Face Launches $399 Microduck Open‑Source Robot
WHY IT MATTERS
The Microduck lowers the entry barrier for reinforcement learning research, enabling developers to prototype and share RL agents on real hardware without high‑end robotics costs.
What happened
Hugging Face has introduced the Microduck, a duck‑shaped robot priced at $399 that is fully open‑source. The device is designed to be taught new behaviors through reinforcement learning, allowing developers to experiment with training algorithms directly on hardware.
CEO Clem Delangue highlighted the Microduck’s potential as a low‑cost platform for RL research and education. The robot’s open‑source nature means that the full hardware schematics, firmware, and software libraries are publicly available, encouraging community contributions and rapid iteration.
Early adopters can begin building custom RL agents and share their results on Hugging Face’s model hub, creating a new ecosystem for embodied AI experimentation.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Hugging Face is selling a cute $399 open source duck robot, Microduck
TechCrunch · Rebecca Bellan · Discovery only; publisher copyright terms apply