Aldebaran

Aldebaran's history began with Bruno Maisonnier's Project Nao in 2004. The project sought to create a small, autonomous and programmable humanoid robot suitable for interaction, research and education. Aldebaran Robotics was established in 2005 in Paris, and six NAO prototypes were developed over the following two years. The company gained an important early platform opportunity in 2007 when NAO was selected to replace Sony's Aibo in the RoboCup Standard Platform League. The first production NAO, the RoboCup Edition, was released in March 2008. An academic version followed later that year for universities, schools and laboratories. NAO's role in RoboCup and its programming environment helped make it a practical research platform rather than merely a demonstration machine. Institutions used it for work involving locomotion, perception, speech, artificial intelligence and human-robot interaction. By the early 2010s, it had become one of the most recognizable educational humanoid robots. Aldebaran used public demonstrations and institutional deployments to broaden the robot's profile. NAO appeared in a synchronized dance performance at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, while universities including the University of Tokyo acquired units for laboratory research. The company announced open-source plans for parts of NAO's controlling software in 2011 and raised venture funding the same year. NAO Next Gen, released in 2011, brought improvements to cameras, robustness, collision protection and walking speed. Later work produced NAO Evolution in 2014, with stronger mechanical components and improved speech, recognition and audio-localization capabilities. The company's business expanded beyond research competitions. NAO was used in schools to teach coding and robotics, in projects involving autistic children, and in healthcare and elder-care experiments. Banks and other service organizations also evaluated humanoid robots for customer-facing roles. Software such as NAOqi and Choregraphe allowed users to program behaviors through graphical tools or developer interfaces, while compatibility with robotics environments supported laboratory experimentation. SoftBank acquired Aldebaran in 2013. Under SoftBank ownership, the company became associated with SoftBank Robotics and was also known as SoftBank Robotics Europe. The broader portfolio included Pepper, a social robot aimed at communication and service contexts, and Romeo, a larger humanoid research platform. NAO6, introduced in 2018, is the latest major hardware generation identified in the supplied material. In July 2022, United Robotics Group acquired the French operation and the Aldebaran name was restored. The supplied reference states that the company entered receivership in France in June 2025. It further reports that Maxvision Technologies acquired the assets in July 2025 and established Maxtronics in France to continue robot development. Maxtronics reportedly continued NAO6 support and distribution and began developing a proposed NAO7 with upgraded local computing, sensing, battery capacity, manipulation and programming tools. No confirmed launch date for NAO7 is provided, and the legal status of the original Aldebaran entity remains unclear.

• 2025

  Receivership and reported asset transfer

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  The supplied reference reports receivership followed by acquisition of the assets by Maxvision Technologies and continued operations through Maxtronics.

• 2022

  United Robotics Group acquires the French robotics operation

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  The company is sold by SoftBank and the Aldebaran name is restored.

• 2018

  NAO6 is introduced

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  NAO6 becomes the latest major NAO hardware generation identified in the supplied reference.

• 2014

  NAO Evolution launches

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  The Evolution generation adds mechanical, speech, recognition and audio improvements.

• 2013

  SoftBank acquires Aldebaran

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  Aldebaran joins SoftBank's robotics business.

• 2011

  NAO Next Gen launches

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  The updated platform improves imaging, durability, collision avoidance and walking performance.

• 2008

  NAO RoboCup Edition launches

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  The first production NAO version is released to RoboCup participants, followed by an academic edition for institutions.

• 2007

  NAO becomes the RoboCup standard platform

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  NAO is selected to replace Aibo in the RoboCup Standard Platform League.

• 2005

  Aldebaran Robotics is founded

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  Aldebaran Robotics is established in Paris to develop humanoid and social robots.

• 2004

  Project Nao begins

  [1]Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org

  Bruno Maisonnier begins developing the robot project that later becomes Aldebaran's NAO platform.

A pioneer of humanoid and social robotics, positioned around programmable robots for education, research, human-robot interaction and selected service applications.

• Humanoid research and educational robot · 2008

  NAO

  NAO is Aldebaran's compact autonomous and programmable bipedal humanoid robot. It was developed for robotics competitions, education, research and selected healthcare or service experiments. The platform includes cameras, microphones, speakers, motion and force sensors, and a Linux-based NAOqi operating system. Its software ecosystem includes Choregraphe, simulation tools and a software-development kit. Versions include the RoboCup Edition, Academics Edition, Next Gen, Evolution and NAO6. The robot has been used by institutions in more than 70 countries.

• Social service robot

  Pepper

  Pepper is a larger social robot associated with Aldebaran's SoftBank Robotics period. It was designed for communication and public interaction, including demonstrations and customer-service experiments. The supplied material identifies Pepper as one of Aldebaran's principal robots but does not provide a complete product chronology or current availability.

• Humanoid research platform

  Romeo

  Romeo is a related humanoid robotics project associated with Aldebaran. It represents the company's work on larger human-scale platforms and research into interaction, movement and assistive robotics. The supplied material does not provide sufficient detail on commercial release, production volume or current status.

• 2018RobotLAB Engage! K12

  United States · International

  RobotLAB released an online learning platform intended to help schools use NAO for STEM, coding and engineering instruction.

  Outcome. The initiative extended NAO's educational software ecosystem.

  Source
• 2010Shanghai Expo NAO dance performance

  China · International

  A synchronized dance involving NAO robots at the Shanghai Expo presented Aldebaran's technology to a broad international audience and emphasized the robots' expressive and coordinated movement capabilities.

  Outcome. The performance generated international visibility for NAO.

  Source

• 2025

  Reported transfer of Aldebaran assets to Maxvision TechnologiesM&A

  Background

  The supplied reference reports that Aldebaran entered receivership in France, raising uncertainty about continued support for NAO and Pepper.

  Action taken

  Maxvision Technologies reportedly acquired the assets and established Maxtronics in France.

  Aftermath

  Maxtronics reportedly continued NAO6 distribution, development and support and began work on a proposed NAO7. The original entity's final legal status is not established by the supplied material.

  Source

• 2022

  United Robotics Group acquisitionM&A

  Background

  SoftBank sold its French robotics operation after the SoftBank Robotics period.

  Action taken

  United Robotics Group acquired the company and the Aldebaran name was restored.

  Aftermath

  Aldebaran resumed operating under its historic brand, although the supplied material does not detail the subsequent corporate structure.

  Source

• 2013

  SoftBank acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Aldebaran was developing humanoid and social robots while SoftBank was expanding its technology and robotics activities.

  Action taken

  SoftBank acquired Aldebaran and integrated it into its robotics operations.

  Aftermath

  The business operated under the SoftBank Robotics identity and continued developing NAO and Pepper.

  Source

• 2011

  Open-source release of NAO control softwareStrategy

  Background

  Aldebaran sought to encourage external experimentation and broaden the developer community around NAO.

  Action taken

  The company announced that it would release NAO controlling source code as open-source software.

  Aftermath

  The announcement reinforced NAO's role as a research and teaching platform, although the supplied material does not specify the complete scope or licensing outcome.

  Source

• 2007

  Adopt the RoboCup Standard Platform LeagueStrategy

  Background

  The company needed a visible and technically demanding use case for its emerging humanoid platform.

  Action taken

  NAO was selected as the replacement for Sony's Aibo in the RoboCup Standard Platform League.

  Aftermath

  The decision gave NAO a recurring international research and competition role and helped establish it as a standard educational robotics platform.

  Source

1. 1Nao (robot)en.wikipedia.org