Project NAO is focused on bridging the gap between human intent and robotic execution. By leveraging Natural Language Processing and computer vision, we aim to explore how autonomous agents interact with their environment and the humans within it.

Core Objectives

The project focuses on developing a seamless pipeline where a user can provide a high-level verbal command, and the robot executes a complex chain of autonomous behaviors:

• Environmental Mapping: Exploring and navigating indoor spaces.
• Object Recognition: Identifying specific items using real-time vision processing.
• Kinematic Manipulation: Executing precise “pick and place” tasks.
• Cross-Platform Integration: Expanding these capabilities to a diverse fleet, including custom-built wheel based platforms.

The Hardware Stack

We primarily utilize a NAO v4 Robot, a 25-degree-of-freedom humanoid platform equipped with dual cameras, sonars, and tactile sensors. This provides a good environment for testing complex spatial reasoning and multi-modal interaction. For high-speed or swarm-based testing, we plan to integrate smaller, agile platforms like the Zumo 32U4. 

Join the Team

We are looking for passionate developers and robotics enthusiasts to help us. If you are interested in AI, Mechatronics, or NLP, we want to hear from you. Whether you’re an expert or a quick learner, there’s a place for you in the lab.

Open Roles

• Vision Specialist: Focus on object detection and spatial mapping
• Behavioral Architect: Develop the logic for task sequencing and autonomous navigation: control theory focused. 
• NLP Engineer: Refine the natural language interface and command interpretation.
• Project Operations & PR: A generalist role focused on managing social media, building sponsor relations, PR.

Apply here latest 31st of March!