Meet the Charming New Roller-Skating Duck Robot from Hugging Face!

Pollen Robotics has unveiled its latest adorable AI creation, the Microduck, a one-eyed biped that stands just under 10 inches tall. Preorders are now open for $399, with color options including cream, graphite, lavender, and sky blue. The company aims to start shipping these charming robots “before Christmas 2026.”

Video demonstrations showcase the Microduck’s playful abilities, such as picking up socks and markers, kicking a ball, and gliding around on tiny roller skates. It can react to its environment, follow a laser pointer, or be controlled via a game controller. The Microduck features open-source software, similar to Pollen Robotics’ previous Reachy Mini, allowing users to retrain it for new tricks.

Additionally, the Microduck can sing, with each unit possessing its own unique sound profile. According to Pollen Robotics, “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.” It operates on a Rockchip RK3566 processor and is equipped with a camera, motion sensors, LiDAR, and articulated legs, head, and neck.