I have a couple of redundant Nabaztag-tags, the second version of An early Internet of Things device, from the mid-2000s.

They look something like this.

The manufacturer went bust several years ago, resulting in the internet-reliant rabbits’ silence. There were a few attempts to resurrect the devices across the world; there’s an existing one which uses a Raspberry Pi as a replacement internet server. It works pretty well and I used it for a year or so. Until the Raspberry Pi I was using at the time exploded (a faulty power supply, which also killed the TV).

I’ve intended trying this again, but haven’t had the time to set it up (it’s a bit of a faff).

However, there’s a new crowdfunding project which removes the need for a separate Raspberry Pi. Instead, the original motherboard is replaced, with the addition of a Raspberry Pi Zero. Both new boards are contained within the body of the rabbit.

The ‘rabbit’ on the right, below, has the new board.

I know that technology has advanced a lot in the last dozen years, but they’re still cool, albeit outdated, devices. So, I couldn’t resist.