Quick Answer
NAO is Aldebaran’s small bipedal humanoid — about 58 cm — sold for years to universities, labs and classrooms. It is one of the few humanoids a teacher can actually receive in a box. It is also slow, fragile by industrial standards, and useless as a labor story. Judge it as an HRI / education platform, which is the job it has done since 2008.
Our Verdict
| Field | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Review Score | 7.0 / 10 for education; we publish 6.9 overall | Real product, real SDK, real installed base. Not a 9, not a worker. |
| Commercial Readiness | 7.5 / 10 | Has been sold continuously in education channels longer than almost any competitor. |
| Consumer Readiness | 4.0 / 10 | Hobbyists buy them. They are not home staff. |
| Autonomy Confidence | Medium in scripted / mapped rooms | Falls, needs charging, needs a keeper. |
| Best For | CS/HRI classes, RoboCup, lab prototyping | |
| Biggest Concern | Treating NAO like a modern labor humanoid |
What Is NAO?
A kid-sized biped from Aldebaran (now in the United Robotics Group orbit, historically SoftBank-owned). Common public specs: ~58 cm, ~5.5 kg, 25 DOF on recent generations, battery on the order of 90 minutes of active use. Hands are for light objects and classroom demos, not totes.
Who Makes It?
Aldebaran. Same family as Pepper. Confirm the current seller on any 2026 quote — the corporate name on the invoice has changed more than once.
What Can It Actually Do?
Walk a lab, recognize faces in good light, speak, run Choregraphe/NAOqi (or successor) behaviors, play soccer in RoboCup Standard Platform League. That last item is the most honest “autonomy” NAO ever earned: a constrained game, not a job.
Price
Education quotes have long lived in the high four to low five figures USD per robot depending on generation and pack. If a page lists NAO with no price because a template said “not disclosed,” that page was asleep. Ask Aldebaran or an education reseller.
Full specs and images
See the NAO profile. Sister platform: Pepper.
FAQ
Is NAO a factory robot?
No.
Is NAO still available?
Education channels have continued to quote NAO-class robots. Confirm generation and software with the current Aldebaran/URG seller.
Sources
Aldebaran NAO documentation and education catalogs.