Hugging Face, the startup greatest identified for the AI developer platform of the identical title, is promoting a programmable, 3D-printable robotic arm that may decide up and place objects and carry out a number of different primary chores.
Referred to as the SO-101, the arm is the follow-up to Hugging Face’s earlier robotic arm, the SO-100, launched final 12 months. The corporate’s robotics division, LeRobot, partnered with French robotics agency The Robotic Studio to debut the SO-100 for round $100 in October.
Hugging Face teamed up with The Robotic Studio as soon as once more for the SO-101, in addition to with robotics retailer Wowrobo, IoT {hardware} provider Seeedstudio, and robotics half vendor Partabot.
In comparison with the SO-100, the SO-101, which additionally begins at $100, is quicker to assemble and options improved motors that scale back friction whereas permitting the arm to maintain its personal weight. The camera-equipped arm might be educated through an AI approach referred to as reinforcement studying, which permits it to “be taught” to carry out duties like selecting up a Lego block and inserting it in a bin.
Tremendous excited to introduce SO-101 right this moment from @huggingface, in collaboration with @therobotstudio, Wowrobo, Seeedstudio & Partabot.
Constructing on high of the insanely profitable SO-100 (the most well-liked robotic arms ever?), SO-101 are the primary robotic arms any AI builder can purchase.… pic.twitter.com/Y3IHskmiGb
— clem 🤗 (@ClementDelangue) April 28, 2025
$100 is the bottom worth for the SO-101, to be clear. Due to premiums on absolutely assembled items and U.S. tariffs on Chinese language imports, costs vary from $100 to round $500, relying on the provider.
Hugging Face is enormously increasing its robotics efforts, just lately buying Pollen Robotics, a robotics startup based mostly in France, for an undisclosed quantity. Led by former Tesla Optimus engineer Remi Cadene, Hugging Face’s robotics wing plans to promote Pollen’s humanoid robotic, Reachy 2, and let builders obtain and recommend enhancements to its code.
