A face you can touch.
The Pi 5 runs an 800 × 480 touchscreen interface with animated Cuddle, compact controls, and full-screen information cards.
CF v1.15 / under the shell
Inside
Cuddlefish.
A Raspberry Pi 5, a touchscreen, expressive animation, and local AI turn a small computer into a conversational companion. Here is the hardware and software behind the experience.
Explore the parts
How the system works
Small footprint.
Many possibilities.
Two Raspberry Pi 5 editions share Cuddle’s touch-and-talk experience, with local AI matched to each device’s memory.
Conversation on demand.
A USB microphone listens when Tap to Talk is pressed. Speech plays through a USB audio adapter and speaker, or a compatible hands-free Bluetooth device. A compatible camera adds visual input.
Knowledge close by.
On-device AI, speech synthesis, and persistent conversation memory work alongside installed maps and reference libraries. Fresh online information is available when the Pi has a connection.
Hardware at a glance
What goes into
Cuddlefish.
The essentials are a Pi, display, storage, microphone, audio output, speaker, and suitable power. Camera and Bluetooth audio are optional.
- Raspberry Pi 5 · 8 GBView example on Amazon ↗
Runs the full touchscreen experience with an AI profile suited to the larger memory capacity.
- Raspberry Pi 5 · 2 GBBrowse compatible boards ↗
Offers the same core touch controls with a leaner local AI profile.
- 800 × 480 touchscreenBrowse compatible displays ↗
Shows Cuddle’s animation, Talk control, maps, reference articles, and information cards. Check video, touch, and power connections for Pi 5 compatibility.
- NVMe storage and SSD HATBrowse compatible storage ↗
Solid-state storage holds the operating system, character media, AI models, maps, reference libraries, and conversation memory. A Pi 5-compatible HAT connects the drive.
- USB lavalier microphoneView example on Amazon ↗
Provides on-demand speech input for Tap to Talk.
- USB audio output adapterBrowse compatible adapters ↗
Connects the Pi’s digital audio to a small analog speaker with a 3.5 mm input.
- Portable speakerView example on Amazon ↗
Plays Cuddle’s spoken replies through the USB audio output.
- Pi 5 power supplyBrowse compatible supplies ↗
Supplies stable power to the computer. Power the display according to its manufacturer’s requirements.
- Webcam · optionalBrowse cameras ↗
A compatible USB camera enables visual input for features that can look at the world around Cuddle.
- Bluetooth speakerphone · optionalBrowse speakerphones ↗
A hands-free-capable device can provide both microphone input and speaker output. Bluetooth speakers without microphone support are playback-only.
Cuddlefish is an evolving maker project rather than a ready-to-flash kit. Check connector, power, audio, and software compatibility when choosing parts.
There is more to explore