Imagine sitting at your desk, sipping coffee, when suddenly a little robot next to your laptop tilts its head, wiggles its antennas, and shouts a playful “Woohoo!” That’s Reachy Mini, a charming little robot designed to bring the world of robotics and artificial intelligence right into your home.
At just 11 inches tall and weighing only 3.3 pounds, this compact companion is more than just a gadget—it’s a way to learn, play, and experiment with technology in a way that feels approachable and fun.
Reachy Mini is made by Pollen Robotics, a company known for building open-source robots, and recently acquired by Hugging Face in April 2025. If those names sound familiar, it’s because they’ve been behind some of the most exciting advances in robotics and artificial intelligence.
What’s special about Reachy Mini is that it takes the complex world of research robots and makes it affordable and friendly for everyday people, whether you’re a student, hobbyist, or just someone curious about robots.
A Robot That Fits Right on Your Desk
When you hear the word “robot,” you might picture giant machines in factories or advanced humanoids that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Reachy Mini is nothing like that. Instead, it’s small enough to sit beside your laptop, on a kitchen countertop, or even on a bookshelf. It’s about the height of a water bottle, which makes it feel less like a lab project and more like a friendly desk buddy.
It comes in two versions. The first is the Lite model, priced at $299, which plugs directly into your computer. The second is the Wireless model, which costs $449 and includes a Raspberry Pi 5, built-in Wi-Fi, and a rechargeable battery. With the wireless version, you can move the robot around freely without needing to keep it tethered to your laptop.
Both versions come as kits that you assemble yourself. That might sound a little intimidating at first, but it’s actually part of the fun. By putting it together piece by piece, you start to understand how robotics works, turning what looks like a box of parts into a lively companion that can move, talk, and interact.
Personality in a Small Package
What makes Reachy Mini stand out isn’t just its size or affordability—it’s the way it feels alive. Thanks to its cameras, microphones, and a 5-watt speaker, it can see, hear, and speak. Its head has six different ways it can move, giving it the ability to nod, tilt, and look around in ways that feel surprisingly natural. And then there are the antennas—tiny, animated pieces that wiggle when it reacts, giving it a playful and expressive vibe.
Pollen Robotics has even been working on making Reachy Mini show emotions. Using motion-capture tools and audio recordings, they’ve created over 80 different emotions that the robot can act out. When you see it bob its head while shouting “Woohoo!” or tilt curiously as if it’s paying attention, it feels less like a machine and more like a little friend.
About Pollen Robotics
Pollen Robotics isn’t new to the robotics world. Before Reachy Mini, they created Reachy 2, a full-size humanoid robot that costs around $70,000 and is used in top research labs like Cornell and Carnegie Mellon. That robot was impressive, but obviously far out of reach for most people.
Reachy Mini is like the younger sibling—smaller, more affordable, but built with the same spirit of openness and learning. By shrinking down the technology into something accessible, Pollen Robotics and Hugging Face are opening the door for anyone to experiment with robotics at home.
Learning and Coding Made Simple
One of the best things about Reachy Mini is that it’s completely open-source. That means you can access both the hardware and software, change things, and create your own projects without limitations.
Right now, you can program it in Python, one of the easiest and most popular coding languages. But soon it will also support JavaScript and Scratch, making it accessible for beginners and younger students. Scratch, in particular, is great for kids because it uses colorful drag-and-drop blocks instead of complicated text code.
Reachy Mini also connects directly to Hugging Face’s Hub, which is basically a giant library of AI models and apps built by the community. You can download pre-made behaviors—like waving, dancing, or playing simple games—or create your own and share them with the world.
Test Ideas Before Your Robot Even Arrives
If you order a Reachy Mini but can’t wait to start experimenting, there’s a simulator you can use to test out your ideas. The simulator lets you code behaviors and see how the robot would react in a virtual environment. That way, by the time your physical robot shows up, you’ll already have animations, movements, or even little personalities ready to load onto it.
This makes it perfect for classrooms, coding clubs, or even just curious individuals who want to dive into robotics without waiting weeks or months for shipping.
A Growing Range of Emotions
Reachy Mini isn’t just about moving parts—it’s about connection. Recent updates from Pollen Robotics have focused on giving it emotional depth. The team has worked on capturing human expressions using a Vive Tracker, motion controllers, and voice recordings. The result is a robot that can display over 80 different emotions, from excitement to curiosity to surprise.
These emotional reactions aren’t random. The robot can respond to sounds, faces, and gestures. Imagine clapping your hands and watching your robot perk up, or leaning closer and having it tilt its head as if it’s listening carefully. These little touches make Reachy Mini feel alive and engaging.
A Community Already Building Apps
Since Reachy Mini connects with Hugging Face’s platform, there’s already a growing community building and sharing apps for it. Some of the apps include hand-following games and even a version of “Red Light, Green Light.” Developers and hobbyists are constantly adding new ideas, which means the robot’s abilities will continue to expand as more people join in.
This collaborative approach makes the robot feel less like a finished product and more like a living project that grows with the community.
Demand Is High and Shipping Has Started
Reachy Mini has already captured a lot of attention. The Lite version is set to start shipping in late summer 2025, while the Wireless version will roll out in batches from fall 2025 into 2026.
The first batch of 100 robots sold out quickly, showing just how much excitement there is around this little machine. Given the price point—more like a high-end gadget than a research robot—it’s not surprising that hobbyists, students, and educators are lining up to get one.
More Than Just a Desk Toy
It’s easy to look at Reachy Mini and think of it as just a cute desk companion, but it’s designed to be much more than that. For educators, it’s a tool to teach coding and robotics in a way that feels hands-on and exciting.
For developers, it’s a platform to test conversational AI or human-robot interactions. And for everyday people, it’s simply a fun way to explore robotics without needing a lab or expensive equipment.
Because it’s open-source, you’re not locked into pre-set features. You can tinker, customize, and push the robot to do things the creators might not have even imagined. It’s a playground for creativity and learning.
Hugging Face’s Bigger Vision
When Hugging Face acquired Pollen Robotics, it wasn’t just about selling a small robot. Hugging Face has always been about making artificial intelligence open and collaborative. By adding robotics into the mix, they’re expanding that vision—making it possible for anyone, anywhere, to experiment with AI-driven robots.
The hope is that robotics becomes as accessible as software. Instead of a closed world limited to giant labs or big companies, it becomes a shared playground where creativity and learning thrive. Reachy Mini is one of the first steps toward that future.
Why Reachy Mini Matters
In the end, Reachy Mini isn’t just another gadget on the market. It represents a shift in how we think about robots. Instead of being intimidating, expensive, or reserved for experts, it’s approachable, affordable, and fun. It invites you to experiment, to learn, and to be part of a growing community of people shaping the future of robotics.
Whether you’re a student curious about coding, a teacher looking for engaging ways to bring robotics into the classroom, or simply someone who has always dreamed of having a little robot friend, Reachy Mini offers something exciting.
It’s small, it’s expressive, and it’s open to endless possibilities. And when it looks up at you, tilts its antennas, and cheers with a joyful “Woohoo!”—you can’t help but smile back.
Source: Pollen Robotics
