This APOGEE, get ready to witness the NAO Bot- an autonomous, programmable humanoid robot developed by Alderan Robotics. ‘The fruit of a unique combination of mechanical engineering and software, NAO is a character made up of a multitude of sensors, motors, and software piloted by NAOqi Operating System’, says the official site. It is a completely customizable bot that can be programmed according to one’s need. With a staggering twenty-five degrees of freedom, the robot is enabled to acclimatize to the world around it. The numerous sensors in its head, hands and feet enable him to improvise, adapt, and overcome. Not only does it know if it is standing upright or lying down, it is flexible enough to pick itself up when knocked down. When one first encounters the bot, they can expect the bot’s gaze to be fixated on them, thanks to its advanced facial recognition feature integrated in its design. With microphones and loudspeakers embedded in all four directions, NAO interacts with humans by listening, processing the information, and then responding with the most appropriate message. Although not Artificially Intelligent, NAO Bot can certainly reproduce human behaviour to a commendable extent. NAO is a personalized robot where one can add content using a variety of options, enriching its personality and even developing new skills and know-how. This can be achieved using the ‘Choreographe’ software that comes with it. This bot boasts participation in 3 RoboCups in 2008, 2009 and 2010. So do check out the bot in the Auditorium at around 13:00 and get to interact with it. Go NAO.