NAO / Pepper
Aldebaran
Europe's best-known small humanoids: NAO in labs and RoboCup since 2008, Pepper in shops until 2020.
Two NAO humanoid robots (NAO V5/V6 generation, Aldebaran/SoftBank Robotics), studio shot · Photo: Softbank Robotics Europe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
NAO, a 58 cm biped, became the standard educational and research humanoid (over 13,000 units in use in 70+ countries by 2024, per Wikipedia) and the RoboCup Standard Platform League robot from 2008. Pepper, a wheeled 'emotional' service robot, was built in roughly 27,000 units until SoftBank paused production in 2020. Aldebaran entered insolvency proceedings in 2025 and its NAO and Pepper technology was bought by Maxvision, which says it continues to support NAO6.
Our verdict
An archive entry with a nuance: the brand is wound down as a French company, but NAO6 is still sold and supported by the Chinese buyer.
Gallery
Video
NAO by Maxtronics
Espacio Robot
NAO by Maxtronics
Availability
No public price
Aldebaran was liquidated in 2025; Maxvision took over the assets and says the business continues (NAO6 support). No current public price.
as of 2026-10 · Source
No public price
Aldebaran was liquidated in 2025; Maxvision took over the assets and says the business continues (NAO6 support). No current public price.
as of 2026-10 · Source
No public price
Maxvision plans to produce the robots in China; no confirmed Chinese retail listing found.
as of 2026-10 · Source
Deployments
| Customer | Location | Type | Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RoboCup Standard Platform League NAO replaced Sony's Aibo as the league's standard robot in 2007-2008. | international | Research | 2008 | en.wikipedia.org |
Timeline
First production NAO (RoboCup Edition) released; NAO replaces Aibo in the RoboCup Standard Platform League.
SoftBank pauses Pepper production (reported 2021-06); about 27,000 units built; about half of 330 French robotics jobs cut.
Company sold to United Robotics Group and renamed Aldebaran again.
Aldebaran files for insolvency (heise: mid-February 2025; Wikipedia: receivership in June 2025); technology assets and IP for Pepper and NAO later bought by Maxvision (reported July 2025).
Maxtronics (Maxvision's French subsidiary) announces continued NAO6 distribution, development and support, per Wikipedia.
Sources
- Aldebaran: Pepper and Nao taken over by Maxvision heise online · Oct 31, 2026
- Aldebaran Robotics / Nao Wikipedia · Oct 31, 2026
- SoftBank stops making Pepper robots, will cut 165 robotics jobs in France IEEE Spectrum · Oct 31, 2026
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