Microduck

Post by rokbenko » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 9:00 AM UTC

vessenes wrote: post #243

asadm wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The creators of Beni seem to have promised that the platform will be open (including sim2real parts of Beni). I have ordered Beni for my family. It's sturdy and more practical for careless fun.

Their current messaging is "we're busy, no promises" on dev kit or API access -- where did you see this open promise? I'm super curious. UPDATE: That's their kickstarter customer service. Their subreddit has founders liberally promising API/devkit access, targeted at Q1 '27

Post by rokbenko » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 9:00 AM UTC

vessenes wrote: post #248

asadm wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i think i heard someplace that ssh/adb is open by default, if true, that is ENOUGH for me to take over and do the rest on my own.

That would be awesome. Probably worth getting a v1 and not upgrading the firmware just to be sure

Post by rokbenko » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 9:00 AM UTC

ghostly_s wrote: post #173

Philip-J-Fry wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a completely different class of robot. The Beni robot is just a toy, it's just connect the app and drive it around, record videos and do some fancy tricks like flips. It is not meant to be a platform you program yourself. The Microduck is meant to be a hacker toy. Train it yourself, write software, hack it, etc. It depends what you're trying to get for your daughter. Is it something to get her into robotics? T…

> Train it yourself, write software, hack it, etc. it seems like the only useful capability this thing has is picking up very small items of clothing with I imagine a very low success rate.

Post by rokbenko » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 9:00 AM UTC

_joel wrote: post #53

Philip-J-Fry wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a completely different class of robot. The Beni robot is just a toy, it's just connect the app and drive it around, record videos and do some fancy tricks like flips. It is not meant to be a platform you program yourself. The Microduck is meant to be a hacker toy. Train it yourself, write software, hack it, etc. It depends what you're trying to get for your daughter. Is it something to get her into robotics? T…

yes to both :)

Post by rokbenko » Mon, Aug 31, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC

rtkwe wrote: post #146

neom wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MKBHD covered Beni the other day and it looks like a super super fun toy. Not sure about the educational value, but I was thinking about getting one for the kid in my life (me). https://youtu.be/mfmdXPT7nAM?t=592 (9:52)

My favorite bit from that was when he had it do a flip and the battery ejected from it's niche and it died. Also the constant suicide attempts from trying to run it on a table but that's a problem for any mobile robot and tabletop demos.