NAO is a programmable humanoid robot from Aldebaran Robotics that is 58 centimeters tall and has a unique combination of hardware and software: It consists of sensors, motors, and software driven by NAOqi, a dedicated operating system. Movement libraries are available through graphics tools such as Aldebaran’s Choregraphe software. You can create elaborate behaviors, access the data acquired by the sensors, and control the robot to give it life. NAO can also be used directly through other programming APIs such as the NAO API for MATLAB.

Key features of the NAO hardware platform:

• Body with 25 degrees of freedom (DOF) in which key elements are electric motors and actuators
• Sensor network including two cameras, four microphones, a sonar range finder, two IR emitters and receivers, one inertial board, nine tactile sensors, and eight pressure sensors
• Various communication devices including voice synthesizer, LED lights, and two high-fidelity speakers
• Intel Atom 1.6 GHz CPU (located in the head) running a Linux kernel and supporting Aldebaran's NAOqi
• Second CPU (located in the torso)
• 27.6 watt-hour battery that provides NAO with 1.5 hours of autonomy or more, depending on usage

The NAO MATLAB API allows MATLAB users to send and receive data asynchronously to the robot over a TCP/IP link (wireless or wired) between the host PC and the robot. This allows users to get data from NAO’s sensors and send commands to the various NAO output devices.