Pollen Robotics and Hugging Face launch Microduck, a 25 cm open-source bipedal robot you train with reinforcement learning

Pollen Robotics (Hugging Face) Microduck

Pollen Robotics and Hugging Face opened pre-orders today for Microduck, a $399 open-source bipedal robot that ships before Christmas 2026. It stands 25 cm tall, works out of the box, and every behavior policy can be retrained on your own machine via physics simulation. Demonstrated skills include walking, sitting and standing, kicking, ground-scooping with its beak, roller skating, and self-recovery from a fall. The post does not disclose hardware specs, battery life, or per-policy training time. I'd mentally add the $119 Dev Pack if you plan to do serious sim2real work—it covers spare motors and cables.

Why it matters: Hits all three HKR: charming form factor, a real sim2real training loop with substance, and a $399 open-source biped that speaks directly to builders. Score held at 72 because the product page omits key numbers — sim2real success rate, latency, GPU hours per skill — so this is...