
The robots, stomping their little feet and making tiny R2D2 noises, sat, fell down dead for a "nap," and summersaulted on voice command.
A video of a company CEO playing with small robotic devices called Microducks during a conference keynote generated significant online attention. The robots performed various actions on voice command, including walking, sitting, and doing summersaults, and preorders exceeded 20,000 units within a day. The Microducks are open-source robots produced by a company that was acquired in 2025, and they were trained using simulation technology to perform basic tricks that owners can expand with additional training.
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Step one in convincing people to live with robots with cameras on their faces? Disguise them as cute home decor.