The ongoing AI revolution has finally given us something everyone can get behind: a tiny robot duck on roller skates. Yes, really.
On Aug. 27, AI platform Hugging Face unveiled Microduck, a 9.8-inch-tall bipedal robot that waddles, sits, kicks a ball, picks up objects with its beak, and gets back on its feet after falling over. Add the optional wheels, and it can even roller-skate.
Microduck is available to preorder now for an introductory price of $399 before taxes and shipping, with the first deliveries expected before Christmas 2026. It is currently launching in North America, Europe, and the UK. The product was developed by Pollen Robotics, the French robotics company that Hugging Face acquired in 2025.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The duck comes with seven trained moves and a game controller, so owners can start bossing it around without writing a line of code. It can also follow a laser pointer, react to its surroundings, and trigger movements using NFC tags. Four color options are available at launch: Cream, Graphite, Lavender, and Sky.
But Microduck is more than a very, very elaborate desk toy. Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue described it as an “open-source robot you can teach new tricks with reinforcement learning,” a process in which an AI system learns behaviors through trial and error.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
“The behaviors shipping with Microduck are not meant to define what the robot can do forever,” Pollen Robotics explained in a blog post. “They are a starting point.”
Developers can train those behaviors inside a physics simulation before transferring them to the physical robot. From there, they can adjust the simulation, retrain the behavior, and deploy it again without repeatedly sending their very real $399 duck tumbling across the room.
Credit: Hugging Face
Its duck-like appearance was not simply an effort to make a robot as cute as possible. According to Pollen Robotics, the character grew naturally out of Microduck’s proportions, articulated beak, and waddling gait. The company kept it because the design made the robot feel approachable without disguising the machinery underneath.
Microduck even has its own voice, although it will not chat with you like an AI assistant. Instead, it communicates through creature-like noises. Each robot receives its own permanent audio identity when it is turned on for the first time, meaning your duck will keep the same voice for its entire life.
Mashable Light Speed
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Microduck’s software development kit, simulation environment, and reinforcement-learning tools are available on GitHub under an open-source license, allowing developers to inspect, modify, and share what they build. However, Pollen Robotics clarifies in its press materials that only the software stack is open source; the robot’s mechanical and electronic design files are not.
The company hopes developers will eventually share new physical behaviors much like people already share AI models. That could include everything from new walking styles and recovery techniques to classroom experiments and routines involving multiple Microducks.
Inside its very small body, Microduck has 15 motors, a front-facing camera, a microphone and speaker, LiDAR, and two motion sensors. It also has 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, WiFi, Bluetooth, and two NFC antennas. A light modeled after a classic recording indicator lets people know when the camera is in use.
Its removable battery lasts around one hour, depending on what the duck is doing, so it will probably need a rest before you do.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The robot arrives with a battery, USB-C cable, and game controller. The accessories that make some of its more charming tricks possible cost extra: A $39 pack includes two rollers, a ball, a laser pointer, and NFC tags. Pollen is also selling additional batteries and development supplies separately.
Credit: Hugging Face / Pollen Robotics
Microduck is the latest step in Hugging Face’s broader push to bring open-source AI into the physical world. The company launched LeRobot, a collection of AI models, datasets, and development tools for robotics, in 2024. It later released the programmable SO-101 robotic arm and, in May 2025, introduced two humanoid robots: HopeJR and Reachy Mini.
HopeJR is a full-size humanoid with 66 independent movements, including the ability to walk and move its arms. Reachy Mini, meanwhile, is an expressive desktop robot built for coding, conversational AI, and human-robot interaction. It can see, listen, speak, and run AI applications.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Pollen Robotics says more than 10,000 Reachy Mini robots have made their way to people around the world. But while Reachy Mini is designed for AI that interacts, Pollen Robotics says Microduck is built for AI that acts, moving through physical spaces, carrying objects, and recovering from falls. The company also said its admittedly “very unscientific” testing found that Microduck is about 10 times more fun in a group, opening the door to robot races, soccer matches, and other multi-robot experiments.
Credit: Hugging Face
Delangue added that the launch the beginning of an “era of affordable open-source robots.” Whether Microduck ultimately becomes an accessible platform for physical AI or simply the most technically advanced way to kick a tiny ball across your living room will depend on what its owners teach it.
Either way, the robot uprising apparently waddles now.
You can preorder the Microduck at the Pollen Robotics website.
