During the GTC Berlin conference, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang demonstrated Microduck robots capable of performing voice-commanded actions like walking, sitting, and somersaulting. These open-source devices feature R2-D2-style sound effects and were trained using Nvidia's technology stack within simulation environments.
Following the viral demonstration, preorders for the robots exceeded 20 000 units within a single day. Hugging Face, which now operates as a subsidiary of Nvidia following an acquisition in September 2025, expects to fulfill these orders in time for the Christmas holiday season.
The Microduck is the second robotics project from Pollen Robotics, a company acquired by Hugging Face in 2025. The platform allows users to train their units with custom tricks and share these capabilities with the broader community, positioning the device as a potential top-selling robot for the year.
