Nao

A friendly, cartoonish, white and silver humanoid robot stands with one hand on it's hip. It has two eyes and a small hole with forms its mouth.
The sixth generation of Nao. Photo: SoftBank Robotics

Nao is a small humanoid robot designed to interact with people. It's packed with sensors (and character) and it can walk, dance, speak, and recognize faces and objects. Now in its sixth generation, it is used in research, education, and healthcare all over the world.

Creator

SoftBank Robotics

(originally created by Aldebaran Robotics, acquired by SoftBank in 2015)

Year
2008
Country
France 🇫🇷
Categories
Features
360 degree spin of a friendly, cartoonish, white and red humanoid robot. It has two eyes and a small hole with forms its mouth.
Interactive
See a 360° view of Nao. Photos: Carlton SooHoo

More interactives

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Appearance

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Did you know?

More than 13,000 NAO robots are being used in over 70 countries around the world.

Three white and silver humanoid robots doing coordinated dance moves.
Naos practice their choreography. Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
A college computer room with students working at tables with a Nao robot and a monitor showing the work they are doing with the robot. A teacher in the front points at a Nao on the screen.
Naos are used in classrooms to teach robotics. Photo: SoftBank Robotics
Meet the new Nao. Video: SoftBank Robotics

More videos

Audio

Roboticist Heather Knight talks about her experiences performing comedy routines with Data, her Nao robot.

Roboticist Heather Knight talks about her experiences performing comedy routines with Data, her Nao robot.

Photo: Randi Klett

History

Founded in 2005 by French entrepreneur Bruno Maisonnier, Aldebaran Robotics became one of the world's leading companies trying to commercialize humanoid robotics. Aldebaran opened offices in France, China, and the United States. In 2008, the company launched the Nao robot, which has become an internationally adopted platform used in education and research in more than 600 universities, labs, and schools. Maisonnier's vision was that robotic companions to assist humans would no longer be science fiction but a realistic answer to the demands of an aging society. Aldebaran set out to explore humanoid robots in areas such as autistic child therapy, human-robot interaction, and personal robotics, employing more than 250 people, including 50 percent in R&D. In 2014, Aldebaran and SoftBank introduced a new, larger humanoid called Pepper, designed as a companion and helper robot. SoftBank acquired a majority stake in Aldebaran in 2015. In April 2022, United Robotics Group, in Bochum, Germany, acquired French subsidiary SoftBank Robotics Europe, headquartered in Paris. SoftBank Robotics Europe reverted to its former name of Aldebaran.

A screenshot of a computer screen with a drag and drop software program and a CAD robot in action.
The Choregraphe software used to program Nao. Photo: SoftBank Robotics
Ten Nao robots are posed as if chatting and interacting with each other.
Nao happy hour. Photo: SoftBank Robotics

Specs

Overview

Latest model: Nao6. Fully programmable platform. Able to track objects and recognize speech. Fall manager (detects falls and triggers protection) and fall recovery (able to stand up on its own). Speech recognition and dialogue available in 20 languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Arabic, Dutch, Portuguese, Czech, Finnish, Russian, Swedish, and Turkish.

Status

Ongoing

Year

2008

Website
Width
31.1 cm
Height
58 cm
Length
27.5 cm
Weight
5.5 kg
Speed
0.3 km/h (default walking speed)
Sensors

Two 5-megapixel OmniVision cameras, inertial unit with three-axis accelerometer and two gyros, sonar rangefinder, four omnidirectional microphones, two infrared sensors, nine tactile sensors, and eight pressure sensors.

Actuators

25 Portescap brush coreless DC motors

Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
25 (Head: 2 DoF; Arm: 5 DoF x 2; Pelvis: 1 DoF; Leg: 5 DoF x 2; Hand: 1 DoF x 2)
Materials

Polycarbonate-ABS plastic, polyamide, and carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic. Color: Dark grey.

Compute

Intel Atom 1.91 GHz quad-core CPU, 4 GB RAM, 32 GB SSD, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet.

Software

Linux OS and Choregraphe suite for programming and visualization.

Power

27.6-Wh lithium-ion battery, 90 minutes of operation

Cost
€7,000