Hugging Face and Pollen Robotis have unveiled Reachy Mini, a fully programmable robot designed to accelerate AI and robotics development with accessible hardware and a starting price of only $299.
The plug-and-play system combines Hugging Face’s AI tools with Pollen’s modular robotics, offering researchers and startups a cost-effective alternative to proprietary platforms. At one-tenth the price of industrial robots, it lowers barriers for testing embodied AI applications.
“Whether you’re an AI developer, hacker, researcher, teacher, robot enthusiast, or just coding with your kids on the weekend,” stated Hugging Face in their blog post on Wednesday, “Reachy Mini lets you develop, test, deploy, and share real-world AI applications from your desk, using the latest AI models!”
Standing at two feet tall, Reachy Mini moves with surprising grace, thanks to its seven flexible joints. It sees the world in 3D through stereo cameras, listens with built-in mics, and can do everything from carefully grabbing objects to chatting with you. Think of it as a helpful little assistant that just happens to be made of wires and code. Thanks to its Python API and Hugging Face’s ready-to-use AI models, developers can jump straight into testing computer vision or voice recognition without starting from scratch.
“Reachy Mini is an expressive, open-source robot designed for human-robot interaction, creative coding, and AI experimentation,” said Hugging Face. “Fully programmable in Python (and soon JavaScript, Scratch)…it’s your gateway into robotics AI: fun, customizable, and ready to be part of your next coding project.”
While schools, warehouses, and startups have been experimenting with similar robots, most are priced out of reach for many. Reachy Mini could change that. Early interest is coming from university researchers and small AI teams, with some already speculating it could streamline prototyping for niche manufacturing.
Reachy Mini is sold as a kit, with two options: a basic “lite” version or a more advanced model that includes its own computer, wireless connection, and built-in battery.
See below for a comparison:
Reachy Mini Lite and Reachy Mini differ in compute, WiFi, and features—Lite is wired and cheaper, while Mini adds wireless power, full rotation, and more sensors.
Hugging Face
Hugging Face confirmed Reachy Mini’s open-source approach aligns with its mission to democratize AI tools. The company’s plan to expand its sensor capabilities based on developer feedback, with shipments beginning as early as next month.