Pollen Robotics, a company affiliated with Hugging Face, launched the Microduck — a desktop robotic duck designed for developers and enthusiasts. The device, priced at $399, quickly garnered attention: pre-orders reached $1 million within six hours and $2.6 million within 24 hours. Microduck can walk, sit, kick a small football, and pick up objects with its plastic beak. After training a new movement in the robot’s virtual simulator, developers can export the skill as an ONNX file and share it with other users. The robot is equipped with a camera, lidar, and two inertial sensors, which are accessible for custom app development. However, due to the surge in orders, the company has adjusted its timeline: while initial promises included delivery by Christmas, the new estimate for fresh orders is 4–6 months.
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