Earlier this year, the open-source AI code community and enterprise Hugging Face, based in Brooklyn, New York, made waves by announcing the hiring of a former Tesla Optimus project robotics engineer to lead a new project called the "Le Robot" open-source robotics program. Recently, Remi Cadene, an engineer from Paris, France, released a video on the X platform showcasing what appears to be the first humanoid robot from Hugging Face's Le Robot program. This robot, named "Reachy2," was actually designed by another open-source robotics company called Pollen Robotics, based in Bordeaux, France. The company collaborated with Hugging Face to train this robot to perform various household tasks and ensure its safe interaction with humans and pet dogs. Cadene explained the unique training process behind Reachy2. He explained that the initial operation of this robot is controlled remotely by humans wearing virtual reality headsets. People use the virtual reality headsets to control the robot and guide it in completing various household tasks, such as placing a cup on a utensil rack and safely delivering an apple or other items to humans. Subsequently, a machine learning algorithm analyzed and learned from 50 sessions of remote control in virtual reality videos, each lasting about 15 seconds. After the learning process, the algorithm can autonomously perform various household tasks and guide Reachy2 in actual operations. Each video is associated with different sensor data inside the Reachy2 robot. After 40,000 to 60,000 training steps, Reachy2 learned how to rotate and hand out an apple, then return to its original position. "We collaborated with Pollen Robotics to open-source this dataset and the models we used for demonstration on Hugging Face," Cadene wrote on the X platform. This dataset is now publicly available for everyone to use. "You can also perform the same operations on your own small robot at home," he announced on the X platform. This move to open-source advanced robotics AI technology comes at a time when the development and investment in useful robotics technology are increasing beyond laboratories and industrial environments. Several companies, including Figure and Cobot, have collectively raised hundreds of millions of dollars, promising to apply new concepts of machine learning, such as the OpenAI model LLMs used by Figure, to the field of physical robots capable of interacting with humans and the environment. Hugging Face's Le Robot project may put pressure on these competitors, as the project essentially provides the technology for free, at least the "brain" of the robot. This is achieved by sharing open-source robot code on its community and Github. Regarding how the Le Robot team at Hugging Face established a partnership with Pollen Robotics, Cadene revealed to VentureBeat that it was a natural collaboration based on geographical proximity and overlapping research interests. "We have been closely following Pollen Robotics' work and are impressed by their robotic technology," Cadene wrote. "We were looking for a humanoid robot at the time, and they were looking for end-to-end training software. Therefore, the collaboration between Pollen Robotics' Reachy robot and Hugging Face's Le Robot was a logical step, especially considering that they are only a two-hour drive away from our [Le Robot] lab in Paris, so we took the opportunity to visit them for a few days." Pollen Robotics has extensive experience in developing accessible and open-source technology for real-world applications. The company started with the Poppy project in 2013, which is claimed to be the first 3D-printed open-source humanoid robot for research purposes. Since then, Pollen Robotics has been committed to creating products that are open-source, open science, and open data, collaborating with scientists, artists, and innovators to explore new applications and make robotics technology accessible to everyone. Their flagship product, Reachy 1, is an open-source and fully remotely operated robot, with a starting price of $9,750 (€8,990). Additionally, the company offers various configuration options, including the Reachy Full Kit with a mobile base (priced at $43,500/€39,990), Reachy Full Kit (priced at $30,500/€27,990), Reachy Starter Kit (priced at $21,800/€19,990), and Reachy Arm Kit (priced at $10,900/€9,990). Reachy 1 excels in interacting with humans and manipulating objects, featuring pre-packaged AI and modular robotics technology that enables quick deployment in any real-world application. Pollen Robotics also strives to adhere to ethical standards, ensuring that their technology is available to everyone under open licenses and producing durable and repairable products. Additionally, the company refuses to accept military funding and offers significant discounts and free services for open-source projects dedicated to environmental protection. According to the Pollen Robotics website, Reachy 2 is "coming soon" and is said to have made "huge progress," featuring a "brand-new 7-DoF (Degrees of Freedom) bionic arm (with a payload of 3 kg per arm)," meaning its arms have the same seven degrees of freedom as humans and can lift objects weighing approximately six pounds.