Hugging Face is selling a cute $399 open source duck robot, Microduck (techcrunch.com)

Hugging Face has launched the Microduck, a $399 open-source robot designed for developers to experiment with reinforcement learning and autonomous behaviors. This 25-centimeter duck-like robot can perform various tasks, such as waddling, picking up objects with its beak, stabilizing itself after falling, and even roller skating. The significance of the Microduck lies in its accessibility to the AI/ML community, offering a fun, hands-on opportunity to explore physical AI for a broad audience. CEO Clem Delangue emphasized this initiative as a step towards democratizing affordable robotics, building on Hugging Face's legacy as a hub for open model weights. Equipped with a camera, lidar sensors, and inertial measurement units (IMUs), the Microduck enables sophisticated interactions with its environment. Developers can train the robot's behaviors in simulation before deploying them directly onto the hardware, further enriched by a comprehensive software development kit available on GitHub. While the open-source structure fosters transparency compared to proprietary systems, concerns remain regarding potential privacy implications, particularly as third-party applications could access the robot’s camera and microphones. The introduction of the Microduck is strategically timed alongside Hugging Face’s potential acquisition by Nvidia, paving the way for a new era in open-source robotics collaboration.