Wellesley Free Library Welcomes Robot Hires

WELLESLEY, MA – The two newest members of the Wellesley Free Library have arrived, but these aren't your ordinary hires.

They're NAOs, humanoid robots that the library is using to further education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Funded by a grant from the Wellesley Free Library Foundation, the NAO's will be at the center of the library's programming classes.

But first, they need names. The library is currently holding a robot-naming contest ahead of their official unveiling September 17.

Following their debut, the library will host classes for adults, teens and childrens on how to program the robots using the program Choregraphe, which allows people to program complex behaviors without writing code. For more advanced students, the library will offer Python courses, according to Wellesley Free Library Assistant Director Elise MacLennan.

"This is sort of the next step in our tech education here at Wellesley Free," MacLennan said.

Future classes offered by the library will include training teachers to use ASK NAO, a software package that programs the robots to engage children with autism spectrum disorder and autism.

And be sure to check out the library's demo days, where attendees can interact with the robots and watch them walk, talk and dance.

>>>Click here to submit names for the robots to the Wellesley Free Library.

Photo Credit: Wellesley Free Library, public domain image