Hugging Face expanded its robotics operations by releasing the SO-101, which stands as a programmable 3D-printable robotic arm. The SO-101 robotic arm starts at $100 and serves users who include hobbyists along with educators and developers who want to experience AI applications through hands-on learning.
The SO-101 represents an improved version of the SO-100 model, which the French firm The Robot Studio, together with WowRobo, Seeed Studio, and PartaBot, developed. The upgraded arm offers users faster assembly and improved motor performance, which minimizes friction and enables better weight-bearing capabilities for executing physical operations.
The SO-101 incorporates a camera system that allows reinforcement learning functionality to teach robotic arm operations such as Lego brick handling and object sorting by conducting experimental learning sessions. CEO Clement Delangue of Hugging Face declared the SO-101 as “the first robot arms any AI builder should buy” through his Twitter announcement.
The initial $100 base price of the SO-101 robotic arm will increase to $500 or more due to assembly expenses and tariffs, which vary based on seller location.
Hugging Face continues its robotic expansion through this new product launch. Hugging Face made an acquisition of Pollen Robotics, which specializes in the humanoid robot Reachy 2. The former Tesla Optimus engineer Remi Cadene now leads Hugging Face as he plans to provide Reachy 2 to developers while making its codebase accessible for community members to enhance the platform.
Through its SO-101 product, Hugging Face continues to make robotics and AI more accessible to developers and educators.
