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Hugging Face has unveiled Microduck, a 25-centimeter-tall biped robot designed to let developers experiment with physical AI and reinforcement learning. Unlike larger humanoid robots that grab attention at robotics events, Microduck is small, lightweight, and built around an open-source approach.
Unveiled on Thursday, August 27, Microduck weighs up to 800 grams and costs USD 399. It has more than 15 motors, a camera, lidar sensors, and two IMUs (inertial measurement units), allowing it to interact with its surroundings. It can also restore its balance and get back up after falling.
The robot has seven pre-trained moves available out of the box. These include walking, sitting and standing, kicking, picking up objects with its beak, roller-skating, and recovering after lying flat on its back.
The design is deliberately different from the humanoid robots dominating headlines. Microduck has a beak that can pick up objects and moves with a waddling gait, giving it a more playful appearance while retaining its focus on robotics development.
The biggest draw is Microduck’s open-source platform. Developers can train the robot to learn new behaviors through reinforcement learning, allowing developers to experiment with teaching it skills rather than being limited to its factory-set movements.
Developers can train Microduck in simulation and then deploy the learned behavior directly on the physical robot. They can also fine-tune and retrain the robot before redeploying it.
Hugging Face has made the SDK, simulation environment, and full reinforcement learning training stack available on GitHub. This gives researchers and developers access to the tools needed to experiment with how AI behaviors transition from simulation to real-world hardware.
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Microduck is part of Hugging Face’s wider move into open-source robotics. The company acquired French startup Pollen Robotics in April 2025 and has previously launched the Reachy Mini and Reachy Mini Lite desktop robots.
While Reachy Mini focuses more on human-robot interaction, Microduck is designed around movement and physical behavior. Its small size also makes experimentation easier, particularly when a robot repeatedly falls during training.
Microduck is available for pre-order since August 27 and is expected to ship before Christmas 2026. Its shells are available in four colorways: orange and gray, purple and gray, black and gray, and blue and gray. Customers will receive a USB-C cable and a game controller with the robot.
