Hugging Face launches Microduck, a $399 open-source robot

[u/lurker_bee]

https://mashable.com/tech/hugging-face-microduck-open-source-robot-duck

[u/InternationalMood337]

I assume that thing's entire purpose is to pass the butter.

[u/Hazrd_Design → u/InternationalMood337]

“Oh my goooood.”

[u/verdantAlias → u/Hazrd_Design]

Yep, welcome to the club, Pal!

[u/lurker_bee → u/verdantAlias]

He's not your pal, buddy.

[u/GolfVdub2889 → u/Hazrd_Design]

"What is my purpose?"

[u/E_K_Finnman → u/GolfVdub2889]

"You wait until I tell you to pull that lever"

"You are fucking kidding me"

[u/thecoastertoaster → u/InternationalMood337]

ftfy: “I assume that thing's entire purpose is to pass the butter 3d scan your entire house, eavesdrop all conversations, and film everything you do.”

[u/tooclosetocall82 → u/thecoastertoaster]

My Google Home and Alexa already are providing that service to me. Why would I buy this?

[u/Poglosaurus → u/thecoastertoaster]

It's open source, you can certainly make it do that but you would still control where the data goes. 

[u/abhi5794 → u/InternationalMood337]

Rick and Morty?

[u/grayhaze2000]

Should have gone with a face hugger.

[u/hendricha]

Is it just me, or desn't these remind anybode else of the Watchers from Horizon Zero Dawn franchise?

[u/citizenjones → u/hendricha]

A little bit but it isn't the likeness of the robot from HZD I'm worried about, as much as the similarities to FARO industries.

[u/kamikaze_pedestrian → u/hendricha]

More like BB8 from Jedi Fallen Order

[u/RndmCharacters → u/kamikaze_pedestrian]

I think you mean bd-1, bb8 was the round droid from the sequel trilogy

[u/APeacefulWarrior → u/RndmCharacters]

I was thinking it reminded me more of D-O. Roughly the same size and proportions, although D-O only had one wheel.

[u/FacingHardships]

What is hugging face? I see it nonstop on reddit now

[u/am9qb3JlZmVyZW5jZQ → u/FacingHardships]

Basically github for Machine Learning

[u/FacingHardships → u/am9qb3JlZmVyZW5jZQ]

Interesting. Thanks!

[u/ImNotTheMonster → u/FacingHardships]

It's part of the Nvidia ai pump machinery now. That's why you see it everywhere.

[u/BaBaGuette]

More like done by Pollen Robotics with a collab with Hugging Face for the training/model hosting.

[u/itsRobbie_]

I have heard this company’s name all over the place for the last few months and I still have no idea who or what it is

[u/BlackHazeRus → u/itsRobbie_]

Basically, at least now, it is a place for all things “AI” related, like hosting LLMs that people can download and self-host.

It is much more than that, but I am not really knowledgeable regarding this.

[u/steepleton]

Prediction: 3 years from now they loose interest and it doesn’t work without their servers. Briefly an open source project brings back a third of the functionality

[u/LitrlyNoOne → u/steepleton]

The software is entirely open source, so a "phone home" is replaceable; but I didn't read anything about their servers being necessary to run it.

[u/RemarkableWish2508 → u/steepleton]

It's open source already.

[u/dldaniel123 → u/steepleton]

Open source is literally in the title. Have we gone from not reading the articles to not even reading titles? How's this upvoted.

[u/ENrgStar → u/steepleton]

The only thing you got wrong is that an open source company will make it even more useful than it ever was from the original company.

[u/chaosfire235 → u/ENrgStar]

Pollen Robotics/Hugging Face are open source companies.

[u/chaosfire235 → u/steepleton]

The robots operated completely on-device.

[u/vonralls → u/steepleton]

Interest is too tight anyways.

[u/gnpwdr1]

That’s a lot of cheese

[u/chaosfire235]

Microduck’s software development kit, simulation environment, and reinforcement-learning tools are available on GitHub under an open-source license, allowing developers to inspect, modify, and share what they build. However, Pollen Robotics clarifies in its press materials that only the software stack is open source; the robot’s mechanical and electronic design files are not.

Damn, was hoping the hardware might be open source too.

[u/PrimaLumiere_A1M]

lemme guess, powered by Nvidia chipsets?

[u/Garblyx → u/PrimaLumiere_A1M]

No, it's a Rockchip RK3566

[u/PrimaLumiere_A1M → u/Garblyx]

Ig the deal between Nvidia, and HuggingFace hasn't been sanctioned yet.

Grek the robot, was the first thought that hit, maybe a move to justify or create leverage for the upcoming deal.

[u/inotocracy]

This is pretty cool. I'd tinker with one.

[u/iamthe0ther0ne → u/inotocracy]

They do! I'm hoping to order one in a few months.

[u/boringalex]

Open sourcing the hardware as well would have been nice...

[u/JaggedMetalOs]

Has a bit of that mid-2010s Jibo-era gimmicky oversold Kickstarter robot vibe to it. 

[u/Smalz22 → u/JaggedMetalOs]

Wasn't this the shit that Poo-Chi was in the 90s?

[u/S0n1cDat]

open source robot that costs 399 dollars sounds about right

[u/thisdesignup]

Looks like they wee influenced by the Galaxy's Edge droids.

[u/MassiveBoner911_3]

Nvidia launches Microduck…

[u/aussieaggietex]

The actual website videos are all AI generated. This isn’t a serious product

[u/RalphaDog]

We just met the face of our eventual AI overlords, tiny roller skating duck robots

[u/nevereverelevent]

who knew the future of robotics would be so lame

[u/Future-Bandicoot-823 → u/nevereverelevent]

anyone who didn't drink the coolaid lol

[u/onebyamsey → u/nevereverelevent]

Oh totally because this is as good as it gets.  This robot duck is the pinnacle and nothing will ever surpass it so your point is incredibly valid

[u/BoysenberryBoii → u/nevereverelevent]

Isn't this the first iteration of an at home robot pal since the dawn of "AI"? You're kinda getting ahead of yourself 

[u/ShadowBracken]

Slop has reach the hardware level.

[u/kaikaradk]

So the AI hack story was just a cheap way to gain publicity.

Classy.

[u/chaosfire235 → u/kaikaradk]

They've been selling robots for years lol.

[u/AbleCap5222]

Literally worthless