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Why Everyone Wants This Mini Robot

Close-up of the MicroDuck robot featuring a white casing, orange details, and a camera in its head. Mechanical joints and cables are visible.
The Microduck initially learns basic movements through simulations and can later be trained with its own tricks. Photo: Pollen Robotics
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October 29, 2026, 6:52 am | Read time: 2 minutes

Small, adaptable, and open to new skills: The Microduck is designed to do more than just preprogrammed movements. Its owners can even teach the robot their own tricks.

The company behind the Microduck is the robotics firm Pollen Robotics. The small robot initially learns basic movements like walking, sitting, and standing through simulations. This gives it a repertoire of movements before its owners can actively engage with it.

The preprogrammed skills are just the beginning. According to Pollen Robotics, owners can teach their Microduck additional tricks. This allows the functionality of the small robot to be expanded after purchase, rather than relying solely on existing movements.

Owners Can Share Their Own Tricks

The newly learned tricks are not necessarily confined to a single Microduck. According to Pollen Robotics, owners can share their results with the community. This gives other users the opportunity to benefit from already developed tricks.

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The project is now backed by a company with a prominent corporate history. Pollen Robotics has been part of the AI firm Hugging Face since 2025. According to available information, it was acquired by Nvidia in September. This means the Microduck is at least indirectly under the umbrella of one of the most well-known companies in the AI and chip industry.

Sales Start Before Christmas

The Microduck is already available for pre-order. Delivery is expected in time for Christmas, bringing the small robot to market just in time for the holiday shopping season. However, it remains to be seen how high the demand will actually be.

Also of interest: Vogue Features Robots on the Runway

Whether the Microduck will become the best-selling robot of the year remains to be seen. Its unique feature lies primarily in its concept: Instead of only accessing pre-existing functions, owners can train new tricks themselves and then share them with others.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TECHBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@techbook.de.

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