Way back at ISTE, earlier this month, we had a chance to check out a ton of great educational products. During our trip to Atlanta for the conference, we brought along our 6 year old special correspondent Tatum. Tatum had a blast, and she helped us find the best stuff there. One of her favorite things was the NAO Robot from Aldebaran Robotics.

It is easy to see why Tatum liked these robots so much, they are awesome. Here is how Aldebaran describes the NAO:

NAO is a 58-cm tall humanoid robot. He is small, cute and round. You can’t help but love him! NAO is intended to be a friendly companion around the house. He moves, recognises you, hears you and even talks to you!

Since his birth in 2006, he has been constantly evolving to please, amuse, understand and love you. In short, to one day become your friend.

Aldebaran created NAO to be a true daily companion. He is the little creature who helps you be your best. His humanoid form and extreme interactivity make him really endearing and loveable.¹

The NAO Robot is equipped with a bunch of different sensors and components: tactile Sensors, ultrasonic sensors, a gyro, an accelerometer, force sensors, infrared sensors, 2 HD Cameras, 4 Microphones and high accuracy digital encoders on each joint. Essentially, it has a better understanding about its surroundings than people do. The NAO is a perfect teaching aide:

Ask him to do something and he does! For example, ask NAO to teach multiplication tables to your children, wake you up in the morning, monitor your home during the day or teach you new things whenever you want. You no longer need a keyboard, computer or mouse to communicate with technology. All you have to do is talk to it, and it responds!²

Our 6 year old special correspondent had a chance to go hands-on with one of the robots, and to ask the team a bit more about the NAO: