NAOqi

NAOqi is the software framework and middleware developed by Aldebaran Robotics (later SoftBank Robotics) to operate its humanoid robots, notably NAO and Pepper. It provides the runtime environment and a collection of modular services that implement perception, motion, speech, memory, and other robot capabilities. NAOqi is designed as a distributed architecture in which multiple modules run as separate processes and communicate through a central broker, allowing components to be added, replaced, or upgraded independently of the rest of the system.

Functionality in NAOqi is exposed through a set of services with names starting with AL, such as ALMemory, ALTextToSpeech, ALMotion, ALVideoDevice, and ALRobotPosture. Each service can be controlled from client applications via proxies, and the same code base can run on the robot or remotely during development. The framework provides Python and C++ APIs, as well as tools for graphical programming (Choregraphe) that generate NAOqi-compatible scripts. NAOqi uses the qi framework for inter-process communication, session management, and remote procedure calls.

NAOqi runs on the robot's onboard computer and is supported by a development ecosystem that includes the NAOqi SDK for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It has evolved through multiple major versions, with updates aligning NAOqi-based robots to SoftBank Robotics' software strategy. The platform provides the foundation for robot behavior, sensing, and interaction, and can be extended with third-party modules and applications.