Nabaztag, the IoT Bunny, Gets Another Shot at Life Courtesy of a Crowdfunded HAT and Raspberry Pi

Nabaztag, the glowing and ear-moving internet-connected bunny, is getting a third shot at life post-cancellation courtesy of its original creator Olivier Mével — and this time it's going to be powered by a Raspberry Pi.

Nabaztag launched in 2005 as one of the first attempts to create a smart, interactive, Internet of Things (IoT) client that didn't look like a piece of industrial equipment or a surprisingly bulky speaker. Instead, the Nabaztag was a plastic bunny equipped with independently-controlled ears and lights, pulling down remote data and providing feedback on everything from the weather to stock prices through shifting colours and twitching ears.

Sadly, the Nabaztag wasn't a success: The company behind it folded, and the servers were switched off — leaving the bunny lifeless. In 2018 Nabaztag's original creator Olivier Mével decided to resurrect the rabbits, designing a board that would replace the original and providing an open source platform to replace the original cloud servers. These boards, however, were produced in very limited numbers, specifically for Maker Faire Paris.

Now, Mével is back and looking to fund a wider production run of the TagTagTag boards — replacement mainboards which use a low-cost Raspberry Pi Zero W single-board computer to drive the bunnies based on the weather, a clock, speech recognition, and even previously-unreleased modes like "Guru."

The TagTagTag HAT includes, in addition to a header for connection to the Raspberry Pi Zero, five NeoPixel RGB LEDs, two MEMS microphones, an audio codec and amplifier, accelerometer, and a temperature and humidity sensor; the Nabaztag's original speaker, servos, and power supply are used.

Mével and colleagues have launched a crowdfunding campaign to gauge interest in the project, and have already easily broken the 150-unit pre-order goal. Those who do not already have a Nabaztag lying around, however, will find the project considerably more expensive: While the TagTagTag board can be pre-ordered for $79, or $101 with a Raspberry Pi Zero WH, 16GB microSD, and the security screwdriver required to disassemble the Nabaztag, a full kit including the Nabaztag itself will set buyers back $370.

More information is available on the project's Ulule crowdfunding campaign page. Alternatively, Bastiaan Slee published a guide to upgrading a Nabaztag with a Google AIY Voice Kit board back in 2017.