Nabaztag facts for kids
Nabaztag
|
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| Developer | Violet |
|---|---|
| Type | Information console Portable media player (PMP) |
| CPU | PIC18F6525 |
| Online services | weather forecast stock market report news headlines alarm clock e-mail alerts RSS-Feeds MP3-Streams |
The Nabaztag is a cool electronic rabbit that connects to the internet using Wi-Fi. Its name means "hare" in Armenian. It was created by Rafi Haladjian and Olivier Mével, and made by a company called Violet. This smart rabbit can do many things online, like tell you the weather forecast or read your emails. You can also change how it looks and even program it to do new things.
Many talented people helped create the Nabaztag. Sylvain Huet wrote most of its internal software, and Sebastien Bourdeauducq made its Wi-Fi work. Antoine Schmitt designed how it would behave, and Jean-Jacques Birgé created its sounds. Together, they even made an "opera" for 100 Nabaztags called Nabaz'mob! Maÿlis Puyfaucher wrote all the original things the rabbit would say in French.
Sadly, the company Violet faced some problems and went out of business. In October 2009, another company called Mindscape bought Violet. Mindscape later announced a new version of the rabbit in October 2010, called "Karotz." It came out in April 2012.
On July 27, 2011, Mindscape stopped supporting the original Nabaztag and shared its computer code with everyone. This meant people could try to keep the rabbits working themselves. On December 23, 2011, it was announced that the Nabaztag rabbits would "come back to life" through special efforts by fans. Even though the official website stopped working, people found ways to keep their rabbits active, like using special software or a small computer called a Raspberry Pi.
Contents
What can Nabaztag do?
The Nabaztag rabbit stands about 23 centimeters (9 inches) tall and weighs around 418 grams (just under a pound). It can send and receive messages and MP3 music files, which it reads out loud. It can also do many other helpful things by speaking or using its lights.
Some of its services include:
- Giving you the weather forecast
- Sharing stock market reports
- Reading news headlines
- Working as an alarm clock
- Alerting you about new emails
- Reading RSS-Feeds (which are like news updates)
- Playing MP3-Streams (online music)
There is also a special set of tools called an API. This lets people write their own programs for the Nabaztag using languages like Java, Perl, Python, or PHP.
At first, the Nabaztag only spoke English and French. But by June 2007, it could fully support services in German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch.
You can make your rabbit unique! You can give it "Skinz" (like tattoos), attach different colored USB tails, and swap its ears for many cool designs and colors. The Nabaztag:tag and Karotz versions can even read special RFID chips. These chips are found in items like Flatanoz key rings, tiny rabbit models called Nano:ztag, and some children's books. You could also buy individual RFID chips called ztamp:s.
Nabaztag Community
Nabaztag owners can join social networks to share photos and videos. Websites like Flickr and YouTube are popular for this. Users can also create their own audio shows, called podcasts. Violet, the company, called these "Nabcasts." There are over 100 Nabcasts available, mostly in English and French, made by different users on many topics.
Since people can program Nabaztags using the API, there are many user-made applications. These include a special tool for Mac computers and an alarm that helps with lottery numbers.
Server Challenges
In December 2006, especially around Christmas, many new Nabaztag rabbits were sold. This caused problems for Violet, the company that made them. Each Nabaztag needed to connect to Violet's servers in France. When too many people tried to set up their new rabbits at once, the servers couldn't handle it. This led to services not working, servers being unavailable, and problems with user information. It was a big issue for Violet's customer service.
The main idea behind Nabaztag was that all the rabbits would connect to the internet through a server managed by Violet. But this didn't work as well as planned. Sometimes the server couldn't handle all the traffic, so services had to be turned off. Also, the rabbits often reacted very slowly, sometimes taking hours instead of seconds.
In March 2008, Violet changed their server system to use a standard called XMPP. After this change, the rabbits usually reacted much faster. However, there were still some long delays sometimes. This change also caused service problems for a few weeks.
Technical Details
The Nabaztag rabbit has a small computer chip inside called a PIC18F6525. It also has a BenQ PC card for Wi-Fi and a sound chip that makes noises. It uses two tiny motors to move its ears and a special chip to control its LED lights. It also has a small amount of memory.
The software inside the rabbit handles how it connects to the internet and uses Wi-Fi. It also runs a special "virtual machine" that can use up to 64 kilobytes of code. There's even a special computer language used to program the rabbit's different features.
Nabaztag/tag: The Next Version
On December 12, 2006, an improved model called Nabaztag/tag was released. This new version could stream MP3 audio, which meant it could play internet radio and podcasts. It came with some preset radio stations. This second Nabaztag also had a microphone, allowing you to use your voice to activate some services. However, not many voice-activated services actually worked well.
A cool new feature was a built-in RFID reader. This allowed the rabbit to detect special RFID tags. For example, advertisements showed it could identify objects like keys. By November 2007, Nabaztag/tag could use RFID tags to read special children's books from a French publisher. In October 2008, Violet also launched RFID children's books with Penguin Publishing House. Violet also started selling Zstamps and Nano:ztags (tiny mini rabbits with Zstamps inside them).
The Wi-Fi in this new model was also better. It could now use WPA encryption, which makes Wi-Fi connections more secure.
End of Service
Mindscape, the company that bought Violet, eventually went out of business. Because of this, they stopped supporting the Nabaztag/tag internet service in late July 2011.
However, some people have created their own alternative servers to keep the rabbits working. It's important to know that these fan-made services usually can't support the very first version of the Nabaztag.
The older Nabaztag units can still connect to a fan-made restoration of the old system. But users can't add new applications or change the settings for the older "v1" rabbits. As of January 2012, these older rabbits would mostly say random French phrases and jokes, do ear movements and light shows, and follow a set sleep-awake schedule. This is because the older rabbits used a different audio format and were handled differently by the original Violet/Mindscape server.
Karotz: The Third Generation
Karotz was the third version of the Nabaztag. It was the first one released after Mindscape bought the company. Like the earlier versions, Karotz connected to the internet using Wi-Fi and could read RFID tags. It also had a built-in webcam, a USB port (for power and connecting other devices), and 256 megabytes of storage inside. Karotz was released in April 2011 and worked closely with Facebook and Twitter.
In October 2011, Mindscape was taken over by another company called Aldebaran Robotics. They said they would continue the "wonderful adventure" of the rabbits.
However, in October 2014, Aldebaran Robotics announced "The end of Karotz's adventures." They explained that after nearly 10 years, Karotz was facing strong competition from newer connected devices that were faster and more mobile. They said Karotz and its users had helped start the trend of connected devices, but new products now better met market needs. Karotz's servers and customer service officially stopped on February 18, 2015.
Karotz Private Servers
In 2016, two years after Karotz's official end, a new English-enabled system was set up. This volunteer effort, called Free Rabbits!, aims to bring Karotz back to life for its fans.
Security Concerns
At a computer security conference called DEF CON 21, some experts pointed out problems with the Karotz's security. They found that if the connections to the website were not secure, a hacker could potentially steal users' Wi-Fi passwords. They could also take control of the Karotz, install harmful software, or even damage the device without the user knowing. During the same talk, they showed how it was possible to secretly watch and listen through the Karotz because it had a camera and a microphone built in.
Awards and Recognition
Violet, the company that made Nabaztag, received an honorable mention in the "Small companies" category at the DME Award in 2007 for the Nabaztag.
The Nabaztag/tag model was awarded "Netxplorateur of the Year" in 2008.
The "Nabaz'mob" opera, which featured 100 Nabaztags, received an "Award of Distinction" at the Prix Ars Electronica Digital Musics in 2009.
Images for kids
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The 100 Rabbit Opera at the 2006 NextFest in New York
