Building robots from your living room just got a serious upgrade.
Hugging Face has introduced an AI model for robotics designed to be accessible and surprisingly powerful. Unlike bulky and complex alternatives, SmolVLA comes trimmed down in size while still outperforming larger models during both virtual tests and real-life applications.
The company has ambitions beyond just another AI launch. With SmolVLA, the goal is to spark broader access to vision-language-action robotics models and supercharge research for multipurpose robots.
SmolVLA offers a complete approach, not just a single model. It delivers both new ways to train robotics AI and tools to measure their capabilities.
This model is the latest addition to Hugging Face’s expanding lineup of inexpensive robotics solutions. Last year, they kicked things off with LeRobot, bundling models, tools, and valuable datasets under one roof for developers to explore. More recently, the acquisition of Pollen Robotics in France added momentum, along with the introduction of several low-cost robotics systems that are actually available for purchase.
SmolVLA lands right in the middle of this innovation push. It is trained using special community-shared datasets from LeRobot and comes in at just four hundred fifty million parameters.
In technical terms, parameters are the building blocks that determine how a model responds and learns. That number means SmolVLA is compact enough to run on everyday consumer hardware — even laptops that most folks already own.
Developers can stress-test or deploy this model on affordable gear, including systems designed by Hugging Face itself.
SmolVLA Breaks Barriers for Home Robotics
The company also highlights an intriguing feature: asynchronous inference. With this approach, SmolVLA can handle the flow of actions for a robot separately from interpreting what the robot senses.
By keeping action processing and sensory analysis apart, robots are able to react more smoothly and quickly. This can make a big difference when responding to the unexpected in changing environments.
Someone has already used SmolVLA to control a third-party robotic arm, according to a social media post, adding another notch in the model’s belt for hands-on success.
Interest in open AI robotics has soared well beyond just one company. Nvidia is in the game with its own suite of robotics tools, while startups like K Scale Labs chase the dream of more affordable humanoid machines.
Other notable innovators include Dyna Robotics, RLWRLD, and the Physical Intelligence venture that has attracted attention — and funding — from Jeff Bezos himself.
SmolVLA is now freely available for download, adding fresh fuel to the open robotics race.
