Reachy Mini: Open-Source Desktop Robot for AI Development

Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics have launched Reachy Mini, an open-source desktop robot designed for AI builders, researchers, and educators. The platform provides an affordable, programmable gateway for developing and deploying real-world AI applications using state-of-the-art open-source models.

Hardware Specifications and Versions

Reachy Mini is a compact robot measuring 11 inches (28cm) in height and 6.3 inches (16cm) in width, weighing 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg). It is sold as a kit and is available in two configurations:

  • Reachy Mini Lite ($399): A wired version compatible with Mac and Linux (Windows support coming soon). It lacks onboard compute and an accelerometer.
  • Reachy Mini ($499): A fully autonomous system featuring a Raspberry Pi 4 for onboard computing, wireless connectivity (Wi-Fi), a battery for power, and an accelerometer.

Both versions include a 5W speaker, four microphones, a wide-angle camera, full body rotation, a motorized head with 6 Degrees of Freedom (DoF), and two animated antennas for expressive movement.

AI Integration and Programmability

Reachy Mini is designed for seamless integration with the Hugging Face ecosystem, allowing developers to utilize open-source models for vision, speech, and personality. The robot is fully programmable via an open-source Python SDK, with support for JavaScript and Scratch planned for the future.

To facilitate development, the project provides a simulation SDK, enabling users to test and develop projects in simulation environments before receiving the physical hardware.

Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) Capabilities

The robot focuses on expressive human-robot interaction through a combination of multimodal sensing and physical movement. It is equipped with a camera and microphones to enable audio-visual interaction, while the motorized head, body rotation, and animated antennas allow the robot to convey emotions or reactions physically.

Open-Source Ecosystem and Community

Reachy Mini is built on a community-driven model where hardware, software, and simulation environments are fully open-source.

Key community features include:

  • Behavior Sharing: Over 15 "plug and play" robot behaviors are available at launch on the Hugging Face hub.
  • Collaborative Development: Users can upload, share, and download new behaviors to a community of 10 million users on Hugging Face.
  • Open Repositories: Software and simulation environments are available on GitHub.

Deployment and Privacy

Reachy Mini is currently in an early development phase and is shared as-is without warranties. Orders are shipped DAP (Delivered At Place), with buyers responsible for shipping costs and import duties.

Regarding privacy, the robot does not store, transmit, or process personal data by default. Users maintain full control over the camera and microphone functions, and neither Pollen Robotics nor Hugging Face collect or access user data from the robot.

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