Nao (robot)

NAO EVOLUTION V5
Robocup, 2016
ManufacturerSoftBank Robotics (previously Aldebaran Robotics)
CountryFrance
Year of creation2008 (first public version)
TypeHumanoid robot
PurposeResearch, education and entertainment
A Nao robot at the Fêtons Linux in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 2011 (video)
Nao robots in a Webots RoboCup soccer simulation
Two NAO robots simulating a loving couple watching a movie

Nao (pronounced now) is an autonomous, programmable humanoid robot formerly developed by Aldebaran Robotics, a French robotics company headquartered in Paris, which was acquired by SoftBank Group in 2015 and rebranded as SoftBank Robotics. The robot's development began with the launch of Project Nao in 2004. On 15 August 2007, Nao replaced Sony's robot dog Aibo as the robot used in the RoboCup Standard Platform League (SPL), an international robot soccer competition.[1] The Nao was used in RoboCup 2008 and 2009, and the NaoV3R was chosen as the platform for the SPL at RoboCup 2010.[2]

Several versions of the robot have been released since 2008. The Nao Academics Edition was developed for universities and laboratories for research and education purposes. It was released to institutions in 2008, and was made publicly available by 2011. Various upgrades to the Nao platform have since been released, including the 2011 Nao Next Gen, the 2014 Nao Evolution and the 2018 Nao⁶ [3][4]

Nao robots have been used for research and education purposes in numerous academic institutions worldwide. As of 2024, over 13,000 Nao units are in use in more than 70 countries.[4]

  1. ^ "Nao robot replaces AIBO in RoboCup Standard Platform League". Engadget. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  2. ^ "UK robots prepare for world cup". BBC. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NAONEXTG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NaoEv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).