NAO Robot, New Friend of Persons with Autism and the Elderly

With an increasing aging population and a growing number of children with special needs, more and more people require daily attention and regular medical care. For example, special attention is needed for individuals with autism, whose population numbers around 500 thousand in Turkey. The dream of a personal robot that can offer assistance and companionship is becoming a reality thanks to French company Alderbaran Robotics. Its humanoid robot, NAO, was developed to assist the elderly and persons with autism, who require care and deep attention.

NAO is a complete platform that can be used to provide hands-on experiences and examples to teach science and technology subjects, and for research in the fields of Robotics, Human-Robot Interaction, Psychology and Medicine. NAO is used in more than 350 prestigious universities and laboratories around the globe, including Harvard University and Stanford University. Research programs at the University of Notre Dame and University of Connecticut, in America, achieved successful results using NAO with autistic children making repetitive and persistent movements.

Psychologist Dr. Murat Sarisoy, author of numerous studies concerning children with autism and other developmental disorders, is fascinated by the humanoid robot. He thinks NAO’s charming design will appeal to many children with autism who are often interested and even obsessed with electronic and mechanical tools. “I believe that NAO will be useful for autistic children for linguistic and communication development, such as vocabulary development, using words and expressions relevantly and meaningfully, and duration of eye contact. It can even help families and anyone to improve subtle motor developments, due to its ability to hold a ball.”

Designed using SolidWorks^® design software — most commonly used by industrial manufacturing institutions in Turkey — the NAO robot has sold more than 2,000 units in 40 different countries. Powered by a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, NAO is a true piece of technology. The robot can recognize faces and easily detect the objects with its double HD cameras. It also includes voice recognition capabilities allowing it to speak and answer questions. NAO can walk, hold and carry light objects. Due to major hardware and software improvements in the latest generation– NAO Next Gen– it can even get up by itself when it falls.

Thanks to this work, which is one of the most important projects of the next century, it will be easier for persons with autism and the elderly to lead a full life. Ultimately, NAO will develop into an assistive robot for the general population. This robot will take a complimentary role in the home by helping with day-to-day activities as well as providing entertainment and companionship.