As far as consumer humanoid robots go, Aldebaran Robotics' NAO is certainly one of the more capable. Among other things, it features a two-camera computer vision system, a sonar distance sensor, two infrared emitters and receivers, nine tactile and eight pressure sensors. Now, the li'l bot can also drive a car – if that car is its new miniature electric BMW Z4.
First of all, based on user commands and/or input from its various sensors, the robot itself does indeed steer the car – it doesn't just sit in it like Malibu Barbie in her convertible.
The car does help it out, though. The vehicle has an integrated laser range finder linked to an onboard Arduino computer, which relays steering commands to the NAO in order to avoid hitting obstacles detected in its path.
Little else is currently available in the way of specs. If you're interested, though, you can pick up the robot and car together for US$9,990 – although if you use the discount code TechCrunchie2014 they're just $7,990, which is the usual price of the NAO on its own.
Source: RobotsLab via IEEE Spectrum
