Hugging Face’s Pollen Robotics has introduced Microduck, a small AI robot built around movement, sound, and open-source software. The one-eyed biped stands just under 10 inches tall and is available to preorder now for $399.
The robot comes in cream, graphite, lavender, and sky blue. Pollen Robotics says it plans to begin shipping Microduck “before Christmas 2026.”
A small robot built for visible motion
Microduck is designed as a physical robot first, not just a voice interface in a shell. Video demos show it picking up socks and markers, kicking around a ball, and moving on tiny rollerskates.
Those demos point to a robot focused on playful, observable actions. Its body is articulated across the legs, head, and neck, giving it more ways to move than a static desktop device.
Pollen Robotics says Microduck can also “react to its surroundings” and follow a laser pointer. Users can control it with a game controller as well, which gives the robot a direct manual mode in addition to its autonomous behaviors.
Open-source software is central to the pitch
Microduck follows Hugging Face’s previous Reachy Mini robot in making its software open-source. That matters because the robot is not limited to the behaviors it ships with.
According to the source article, users can retrain Microduck to do new tricks. For buyers who want more than a finished toy, that open software angle is likely to be one of the main reasons to pay attention.
The open-source approach also changes how the robot may be used over time. Instead of treating Microduck as a closed gadget with fixed skills, owners can experiment with the behaviors it learns and performs, within the capabilities of its hardware.
Each Microduck gets its own voice
Movement is only part of the identity Pollen Robotics is giving Microduck. The company says the robot can sing, and each unit has its own sound.
“it communicates through weird little sounds, closer to a creature than an assistant. Each Microduck gets its own audio identity the first time it wakes up, tied to that individual robot so it keeps the same voice for life.”
That detail frames Microduck as something intentionally characterful. The robot is being described less like a conventional assistant and more like a small interactive presence with a consistent audio identity.
The voice system also gives each unit a persistent trait. Once a Microduck receives its audio identity, Pollen Robotics says it keeps that same voice for life.
The hardware behind the character
Microduck runs on a Rockchip RK3566 processor. It also includes a camera, motion sensors, LiDAR, and articulated legs, head, and neck.
Those parts are important because the robot’s appeal depends on sensing, movement, and response. The camera, motion sensors, and LiDAR give it ways to gather information about its environment, while the articulated body gives it ways to act on that information physically.
The result is a compact AI robot that combines several different interaction styles: it can move objects in demos, respond to its surroundings, follow a laser pointer, accept game controller input, and produce its own generated voice.
What Microduck says about Hugging Face’s robot direction
Microduck is Pollen Robotics’ second cute AI robot under Hugging Face. The earlier Reachy Mini robot set the pattern for open-source software, and Microduck continues that direction with a smaller, character-driven design.
The product is also being positioned clearly at the preorder stage. The available facts are simple: Microduck costs $399, comes in four color options, stands just under 10 inches tall, and is planned to ship “before Christmas 2026.”
For now, the most concrete picture comes from the demonstrations and the disclosed hardware. Microduck is a small biped robot with sensors, a camera, LiDAR, articulated movement, open-source software, and an individual generated voice. Its unusual mix of rollerskating motion, retrainable behavior, and creature-like sound is the core of what makes it stand out.