The Future is NAO

NAO: A humanoid programmable robot with a mind of its own. This little robot (57 cm) may have big plans to walk into the life of every human being.

Created by Aldebaran Robotics with the launch of Project NAO in 2004, this robot has slowly been gaining popularity in the technological world. Academic systems have been using NAO programming for research and education purposes, since its versatile platform can be used to explore a variety of research topics in technology.

All NAO have an internal inertial sensor which keeps it stable, and allows it to pick itself up if it falls over. It also has its own multimedia system, including multiple microphones, speakers, cameras (920p) , IR sensors, and tactile and pressure sensors. It can be programmed with a variety of languages, including C++, Python and Java. Its battery provides NAO with enough power to be able to be autonomous by itself for 1.5 or more hours.

NAO can connect to the internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, with the ability to be used on both WPA or WEP networks so that it can be used in most homes and offices. Users can create applications for NAO using their internet connection and programming language so that it could pull data off the internet such as weather, Wikipedia or even internet radio stations. The NAO robot also has its own simulator (powered by Cogmation Robotics), which lets the users test out their algorithms and programs in a virtual environment.

Since the NAO technology is an open source (since 2011), users all around the world can chip in their innovations to make applications for the little robots and collaborate to make it more and more useful to the society.

The video below is a short introduction to the NAO robot, and its many features, including its many sensors and cameras. You can find more information at the Aldebaran Robotics website here.

As you watch this little bot, you may want to start thinking about how you will use this in your enterprise. Why might you have one? Versions that can withstand heat and water could be very useful in emergency response, going places that might be hard for humans to go in order to save lives or to fight fires or conduct other dangerous missions. They could also be great on security duty at night. And maybe they could climb up into dangerous heights to perform maintenance or cleaning duties that are very expensive and hazardous for humans to do. Whatever it is they do, keep in mind that the IT department and the CIO will probably be in charge of keeping them programmed, repaired and ready.

Watch the video here.