# complete noob (I can’t program): my introduction to robots with Microduck from “Pollen Robotics”. What do you think?

**URL:** <https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/complete-noob-i-can-t-program-my-introduction-to-robots-with-microduck-from-pollen-robotics-what-do-you-think/59426>\
**Category:** Projects\
**Created:** [November 2, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/complete-noob-i-can-t-program-my-introduction-to-robots-with-microduck-from-pollen-robotics-what-do-you-think/59426 "2026-11-02T00:49:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jacobson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.openrobotics.org/jacobson/32/36278_2.png) [@Jacobson](https://discourse.openrobotics.org/u/Jacobson)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/complete-noob-i-can-t-program-my-introduction-to-robots-with-microduck-from-pollen-robotics-what-do-you-think/59426/1 "2026-11-02T00:49:05Z")

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Hi

I have absolutely no idea about the topic of robots. I want to take the plunge / just give it a try. Is Microduck a good starting point? I can’t develop, but I’m a macOS power user. I have two children, 10 and 8, and it would be a nice joint project.

> **[Microduck: a tiny biped robot you can teach new tricks](https://pollen-robotics.com/microduck/)**
>
> Microduck is a 25 cm open-source biped robot with 15 motors, a camera, LiDAR and a grasping beak. Train new behaviours in simulation. Pre-order at $399.

Thank you

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**Author:** ![Gglaspell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Gglaspell](https://discourse.openrobotics.org/u/Gglaspell)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 7:04pm UTC](https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/complete-noob-i-can-t-program-my-introduction-to-robots-with-microduck-from-pollen-robotics-what-do-you-think/59426/2 "2026-11-02T19:04:15Z")

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Hi Jacobson! My personal opinion would be to start out in sim before before hardware. Turtlesim is great place to start to get a feel for ROS then move onto to Gazebo. With Gazebo you can change robots pretty easily and worlds too. If you need help setting up a workspace check this out [GitHub - gglaspell/jazzy\_tutorial: This repository contains a fully containerized ROS 2 Jazzy environment. It includes all the dependencies needed to complete the official ROS 2 Tutorials. · GitHub](https://github.com/gglaspell/jazzy_tutorial)

Best of luck!