Hugging Face's new robot is a duck that rollerskates and sings
Hugging Face's hardware arm Pollen Robotics just unveiled the Microduck, a 10 inch one-eyed biped robot that preorders for $399 and ships before Christmas 2026. It can pick up socks, kick a ball, chase a laser pointer, and yes, zip around on tiny rollerskates, all while singing in its own randomly generated voice that it keeps for life. Like its sibling Reachy Mini, it's fully open-source, meaning owners can reprogram its tricks. It matters because it signals AI companies are betting big on cute, hackable companion robots as the next consumer category, not just chatbots in a box.
Why it matters
Hugging Face is quietly building a hardware ecosystem around open-source robotics, not just models. If Microduck sells, it validates a market for adorable, hackable desk companions, a very different bet than the enterprise AI arms race everyone else is chasing.