# Microduck by Pollen Robotics Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/microduck/ 17 people recommended Microduck by Pollen Robotics in Hacker News comments, 11 had mixed feelings and 14 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 2 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. 16 of the 17 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Microduck”. **Verdict:** People recommend it as a cute, hackable robot that runs locally and works out of the box. Critics say it is expensive and more toy than useful. Summary written by Claude from 39 comments. ## Why people recommend it - Cute, charming design (4 comments in the sample): "It's mega-cute, but I can't help feeling it's going to be used as free training for commercial robots." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49474567)) "Cute, and quite something if the sim-to-real pipeline is as smooth as we all might hope." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49463239)) "I think this version has a certain charm to it, reminiscent of Wall-E" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49469526)) - Works out of the box, hackable (2 comments in the sample): "the fact that their simulator actually works out of the box, "batteries included", is a big deal for home hobbyists" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49471740)) "The Microduck is meant to be a hacker toy. Train it yourself, write software, hack it, etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49464765)) - Brings joy back to robotics (2 comments in the sample): "This actually seems awesome, just going through the video on their site made me burst out with 100 different ways" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49463463)) "kudos for bringing the joy of robotics back" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49465126)) - Can patrol or check home (2 comments in the sample): "IF you can control it remote, you can check your flat if you are gone for a little bit longer." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49464993)) "what a nice platform, i would love this to patrole my house and have some fun." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49467905)) ## What people warn about - Privacy worries about camera and mic (3 comments in the sample): "no auth to access the camera or mic as long as youre on the same network" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49473637)) "If there weren't any privacy issues, I'd love to have one just as a toy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49476694)) "i would be concerned about privacy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49465439)) - Expensive for many buyers (2 comments in the sample): "the price when including shipping and taxes is fro me 455 EUR, which is twice my budged" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50114752)) "It does seem a little expensive and that would be my only criticism of the product" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49464983)) - Mostly a toy, little useful capability (2 comments in the sample): "It's not worth it if you can't have a swarm of them that debate philosophy in their off time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49466765)) "the only useful capability this thing has is picking up very small items of clothing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49471685)) ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://pollen-robotics.com/) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Microduck by Pollen Robotics", https://hackerapproved.com/p/microduck/ (17 recommend, 11 mixed, 14 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.