Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics have opened pre-orders for the $399 Microduck, a bipedal robot designed for mobility and AI experimentation. Standing 25cm tall and weighing under 800g, the water bird-inspired bot features 15 motors, a built-in camera, LiDAR, and an articulated beak capable of picking up objects. Unlike the stationary Reachy Mini, Microduck focuses on movement, capable of walking, sitting, crouching, recovering from falls, and even roller-skating.

Key to its trial-and-error design is its diminutive stature, which reduces safety and financial risks compared to larger humanoid robots. The robot communicates through sound rather than words, with each unit developing a permanent "audio identity." Pre-orders are available in four colorways: Cream, Graphite, Lavender, and Sky. The device includes 32GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, with a 2,600mAh battery providing approximately one hour of runtime.

Hugging Face aims to dispatch the first round of orders before Christmas in the US. The open-source software stack includes an SDK and reinforcement learning tools, allowing developers to customize movement and simulation options. Users can control the robot via gamepad or have it follow a laser dot out of the box.