Hugging Face, the artificial intelligence company known for its advancements in natural language processing, has announced the upcoming release of two versions of its Reachy Mini desktop robots. The Reachy Mini series, developed to further enrich open-source robotics, is intended to give you more control and flexibility to customize and experiment for yourself.
The other two variants are the Reachy Mini Wireless and the Reachy Mini Lite. In response to this early feedback, Clém Delangue, the CEO of Hugging Face, recently shared that they developed two variants. This input was based on the initial prototype revealed way back in May.
The Reachy Mini Wireless shines when it comes to ultimate ease of use and portability. Costing $449, this edition is completely wireless and powered by a Raspberry Pi 5 mini computer. The users can truly engage with the robot without being tethered down by cords. This revolutionary versatility helps the robot thrive in home and educational environments.
The Reachy Mini Lite offers a more budget-friendly option at $299 but requires a connection to an external computing source. This option is especially attractive for people who might already own compatible devices or want to use a wired connection as their primary setup. Both models are approximately the size of a typical stuffed animal. They are special because they have two screens that function as eyes and that they come fully loaded with two antennas, enhancing their interactive capabilities.
Delangue emphasizes the importance of accessibility in technology, stating, “I feel like it’s really important for the future of robotics to be open source, instead of being closed source, black box, and concentrated in the hands of a few companies.”
The Reachy Mini Lite will begin shipping next month. In the meantime, the wireless version will be available later this year. This timeline is in keeping with Hugging Face’s mission to ensure a rapid, responsive development process driven by user feedback.
Delangue elaborated on the company’s approach to product development by saying, “The goal in the future is to keep carefully getting a lot of feedback like that from users, from the community, that’s how we’ve always been building products at Hugging Face as an open source community platform.”
With the Reachy Mini series, Hugging Face pushes the limits of modern robotics. They finally empower users by giving them the tools they need to control and customize their experiences. The open-source nature of these robots allows anyone to develop specific features and applications that can then be shared with the broader community.
“Anyone will be able to build their own specific features and apps for Reachy Mini that then they’ll be able to share with the community.” – Clém Delangue
