> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.tao.media/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Hugging Face Launches $399 Open-Source Microduck Robot for Reinforcement Learning
- URL: https://www.tao.media/hugging-face-launches-399-open-source-microduck-robot-for-reinforcement-learning/
- Published: 2026-08-27T13:00:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-27T13:00:48.000Z
- Description: The robot brings sim-to-real reinforcement learning, customizable behaviors, and physical AI experimentation to developers for under $400.
- Author: Bart Hillerich
- Tags: Hugging Face, News, Robotics

[Hugging Face](https://huggingface.co/?ref=tao.media) and [Pollen Robotics](https://pollen-robotics.com/?ref=tao.media) have launched Microduck, a $399 open-source biped robot designed to give developers an affordable platform for experimenting with reinforcement learning and physical AI.

0:00 

/0:51 

1× 

Microduck Launch Video

Standing just 25 centimeters tall and weighing roughly 800 grams, Microduck packs 15 motors alongside a wide-angle camera, LiDAR, microphones, a speaker, two IMUs, NFC, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Its articulated beak doubles as a small gripper, allowing the robot to pick up objects in addition to walking and interacting with its surroundings.

Microduck is designed to work out of the box, with seven pre-trained behaviors that include walking, sitting and standing, kicking, grabbing objects, roller skating and recovering to its feet after falling over. A game controller is included with the robot.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/78/0b/780ba906-b1a7-4bf0-873c-bdd5c32e5331/content/images/2026/08/image-14.png)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/78/0b/780ba906-b1a7-4bf0-873c-bdd5c32e5331/content/images/2026/08/image-16.png)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/78/0b/780ba906-b1a7-4bf0-873c-bdd5c32e5331/content/images/2026/08/image-17.png)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/78/0b/780ba906-b1a7-4bf0-873c-bdd5c32e5331/content/images/2026/08/image-15.png)

The more important part of the launch, however, is what users can teach it themselves.

Developers can train new behaviors through reinforcement learning in a physics simulation before deploying the resulting policy directly to the physical robot. From there, they can adjust the simulation, retrain the model and repeat the process as they work to improve how a behavior transfers from simulation to the real world.

Hugging Face and Pollen have made that entire workflow open source. Microduck's SDK, MuJoCo simulation environment and reinforcement learning training stack are available publicly under an Apache 2.0 license, while the seven policies that ship with the robot can also be inspected and retrained. Users can run training locally or use Hugging Face's cloud infrastructure before deploying a policy to Microduck.

0:00 

/0:11 

1× 

Microduck Simulator

The approach is intended to lower the cost of experimenting with reinforcement learning on real hardware. Much of the current physical AI boom has centered around expensive humanoids and industrial robots that remain inaccessible to individual developers and researchers. Microduck instead packages many of the same core concepts, including embodied perception, reinforcement learning and sim-to-real policy deployment, into a $399 device.

The launch also builds on Hugging Face's broader move into open-source robotics. Hugging Face acquired French robotics company Pollen Robotics in April 2025 after launching its open-source LeRobot library the year before. At the time, Hugging Face said its goal was to make robotics "open, affordable, and private," bringing the collaborative development model that helped grow its AI software ecosystem into physical machines.

Pre-orders for Microduck opened at an introductory price of $399 before taxes and shipping. Initial deliveries are targeted for before Christmas 2026, with availability across the U.S., Canada, Europe, the U.K., Norway, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea. Buyers can choose between Cream, Graphite, Lavender and Sky colorways.

\-> [Get full details, play with the simulator, and order Microduck](https://pollen-robotics.com/microduck/?ref=tao.media)