Open-Source Robots Launched by Hugging Face in Two Variants
New Open-Source Humanoid Robots Launch by Hugging Face
Hugging Face, the company known for its work in AI and machine learning, has entered the robotics field with the release of two new humanoid robots: HopeJR and Reachy Mini. These robots are designed to democratize robotics and AI development, lowering the barrier of entry and fostering a culture of openness and experimentation in the robotics community.
Meet HopeJR
HopeJR is a full-size robotic arm with a highly dexterous hand featuring 23 degrees of freedom, including 16 in the hand itself. It can perform complex finger manipulations to pick up various objects. The hardware can be 3D printed and assembled for about $500 using inexpensive components. All hardware designs, build guides, and software for controlling and teleoperating HopeJR are open source and available on GitHub.
Reachy Mini: A Compact Desktop Robot
Reachy Mini, on the other hand, is a desktop humanoid robot roughly 11 inches (28 cm) tall and weighs 1.5 kg. It comes in two versions: Reachy Mini Wireless ($449), which includes a Raspberry Pi 5 computer, wireless connectivity, battery, and accelerometer, and Reachy Mini Lite ($299), a wired version without the accelerometer. Both have two screens for eyes, animated antennas, a 5W speaker, and a wide-angle camera. The robot comes as a kit for assembly and is programmable using Python, with future plans for JavaScript and Scratch support.
A Shift Towards Inclusive Innovation
These open-source robots offer a broad spectrum of use cases, including AI research, robotics education, teleoperation, human-robot interaction experiments, manipulation tasks, and software development for robotic control. Their affordability and accessibility make them suitable for hobbyists, developers, educational institutions, and researchers interested in exploring advanced robotics and AI integration.
The acquisition of Pollen Robotics by Hugging Face has contributed to the development of HopeJR and Reachy Mini. Hugging Face has been steadily moving into the robotics field in the last few years, and the release of these robots is an attempt to encourage a new generation of robotics research that values openness and experimentation.
The robots are not just tools, but also educational platforms that encourage learning and collaboration. They are scheduled to arrive towards the end of this year, marking an exciting time for the robotics and AI community.
[1] Hugging Face's HopeJR: A 66-DOF Open-Source Robot Arm [2] Reachy Mini: The Open-Source Desktop Robot [3] Operating HopeJR: A Guide to Controlling the Robot Arm [4] Programming Reachy Mini: A Guide to Controlling the Desktop Robot
- Hugging Face's advancement in the robotics field, demonstrated by their open-source humanoid robots HopeJR and Reachy Mini, showcases the integration of artificial-intelligence in these machines, fostering a new era of AI-driven robotics.
- With the development of AI-powered functionality, HopeJR's 66 degrees of freedom and Reachy Mini's programmable nature using Python, artificial-intelligence plays a significant role in enhancing the capabilities of these open-source robots, expanding their potential applications.
