[Edaily Reporter Shin Yeong-bin ] “We’ve received approximately 15,000 additional orders in the few days since Jensen Huang’s demonstration. We are in discussions with ROBOTIS to ensure a stable supply of the necessary actuators.”

Matthew Lafer, co-founder and CEO of Polen Robotics, visited Korea to secure joints for the “Duck Robot.” As orders flooded in for the “Microduck”—introduced on stage by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang—demand for key Korean-made components has also surged.

On the 26th, Lafer visited the headquarters of ROBOTIS(108490) to discuss plans for a stable supply of the “Dynamixel” actuators.

15 Korean-made joints inside a $399 duck

Pollen Robotics is a French robotics developer under Hugging Face, an artificial intelligence (AI) platform company. The “Microduck,” developed by the company, is a duck-shaped bipedal robot approximately 25 cm tall. It wobbles as it walks, sits down, and gets back up on its own when it falls. It can pick up small objects with its beak and even ride roller skates. The pre-order price is $399 (approximately 527,000 won), excluding taxes and shipping.

Pollen Robotics plans to produce 20,000 units of MicroDuck for the initial shipment and supply more than 50,000 units next year. The company estimates it will need approximately 1 million actuators next year.

Each MicroDuck contains 15 “Dynamixel” actuators. An actuator is a component that combines a motor and a control unit to move a robot’s joints.

CEO Lafer explained that the long-standing collaboration with ROBOTIS led to the adoption of Dynamixel. Polen Robotics has verified the performance and reliability of Dynamixel by applying it to its existing products and the desktop robot “Rich Mini,” among others.

“We have used ROBOTIS actuators in almost all of our products,” he explained, adding, “We’ve trusted them for a long time, and since they perform well, we continue to use them.” The performance, quality, and price competitiveness achieved despite their small size are also key factors in the selection.

An understanding of the actuators also aids in the robot’s learning process. MicroDuck operates by first learning movements in a virtual environment and then applying them to the actual device. To minimize the discrepancy between the virtual environment and reality, the motor’s movements and responses must be accurately reflected.

CEO Lafer explained that the experience gained from understanding the characteristics of Dynamixel aids the development process of transitioning from simulation to the actual robot.

Created for Reinforcement Learning… but Its Cuteness Led to an “Unexpected Hit”

MicroDuck began as an experiment in

reinforcement learning

. It was designed to allow users to teach new movements in a virtual environment, apply them to a real robot, and verify the results. The software was made open-source so that developers could modify it themselves and implement new features.

CEO Lafer said, “We initially designed it as a platform for reinforcement learning,” adding, “Honestly, it’s truly amazing that it’s achieved such great success.” In essence, a robot conceived as a professional development tool has ended up capturing the public’s attention.

He cited the robot’s cute design and affordable price as key factors in its popularity. “Comments often mention how cute the robot is,” he said, adding, “We’re thinking about what we can do next and what lessons we can learn from this experience.”

There is also potential for the robot to be used as a companion. However, the company is currently focusing primarily on hardware and reinforcement learning software. Since buyers have not yet received the product, the company maintains that it is too early to determine how it will actually be used.

Regarding the Korean market, he assessed, “While the U.S. is by far the largest market, Korea ranks among the top five markets we consider most important.”

ROBOTIS: “Will Begin Fulfilling Increased Orders Starting in the Second or Third Quarter of Next Year”

The surge in orders has also presented production challenges for ROBOTIS. When asked about the impact of this partnership on sales, ROBOTIS CEO Kim Byung-soo replied, “It will not affect this year’s sales,” explaining, “This is because we are already operating at maximum production capacity.”

He explained that currently, increasing MicroDuck production would require adjusting the production schedules for other orders. CEO Kim said, “We will be able to fully handle these orders starting in the second or third quarter of next year,” adding, “At present, orders have already exceeded our production capacity.”

The company also sees the significance of this collaboration in expanding its public recognition. In traditional business-to-business transactions, client companies often did not want to disclose their component supply relationships. MicroDuck is an example that showcases the practical applications of Dynamixel through a robot that captures consumer interest.

CEO Kim remarked, “This is a very important project because it allows us to publicize that ROBOTIS actuators are used in various applications and have been adopted in such popular robots,” adding, “We will do our best to ensure production and quality, just as we have always done.”