Hugging Face says its new robotics model is so efficient it can run on a MacBook | TechCrunch
Jun 04, 2025 - techcrunch.com
Hugging Face has released SmolVLA, an open AI model for robotics, designed to democratize access to vision-language-action models and accelerate research in generalist robotic agents. SmolVLA, which is 450 million parameters in size, is trained on community-shared datasets and outperforms larger models in both virtual and real-world environments. It is part of Hugging Face's initiative to create an ecosystem of low-cost robotics hardware and software, following their acquisition of Pollen Robotics and the launch of LeRobot. SmolVLA can run on consumer-grade hardware, including a MacBook, and supports an asynchronous inference stack for faster response in dynamic environments.
The model is available for download, and users have already reported successful applications, such as controlling a third-party robotic arm. Hugging Face is not alone in the open robotics field, with companies like Nvidia, K-Scale Labs, Dyna Robotics, Physical Intelligence, and RLWRLD also making strides. The development of SmolVLA represents a significant step towards accessible and affordable robotics solutions, potentially transforming the landscape of home and professional robotics projects.
Key takeaways:
Hugging Face released SmolVLA, an open AI model for robotics that outperforms larger models in both virtual and real-world environments.
SmolVLA is designed to democratize access to vision-language-action models and accelerate research toward generalist robotic agents.
The model is small enough to run on consumer hardware and supports an asynchronous inference stack for faster responses in dynamic environments.
Hugging Face is expanding its robotics ecosystem, having acquired Pollen Robotics and launched several affordable robotics systems.
