[1] The original Big Trak was a six-wheeled (two-wheel drive) tank with a front-mounted blue "photon beam" headlamp, and a keypad on top.

In 2010, BIG TRAK was relaunched in the form of a slightly modified replica (cosmetically very similar to the original UK bigtrak), produced under licence by Zeon Ltd.

There is also a small dedicated Internet community who have reverse engineered the BIG TRAK and the Texas Instruments TMS1000 microcontroller inside it.

It featured an obstruction sensor disguised as a plastic front bumper, which would stop the program when the toy got stuck.

However, there was no provision for an accessory, and its motion sensor was based on a cheaper reed switch instead of an opto-isolator.

A Soviet popular science journal Nauka i Zhizn published a detailed article on the IM-11.

[4][5] The colour and graphic scheme are based on the UK version and all stickers have been redrawn as a direct copy of the original artwork.

Since the initial release of the replica, a second version has been introduced, the differences being in the test program and the power switch.

This affects the stall-detection in the electronics, as the original version seems to have been designed to run on smooth floors, and easily stalls when attempting to turn on carpet.

"Robotics go back to the future with the retro looks of smash-hit 80s toy Bigtrak working together with high-tech smartphone technology.

Rover's on-board camera streams live video from his field of view, directly to your computer, tablet or phone.

Bigtrak Rover does not draw any power from your smartphone, and does not require Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity."

[12] Meanwhile, in the 2000s and 2010s, many people have hacked the Bigtrak by allowing it to be controlled with modern microcontrollers such as the Arduino, or even a single board Personal Computer such as the Raspberry Pi.

In the early 1980s, the psychology of science community led by the laboratory of David Klahr at Carnegie Mellon University adopted the Big Trak as a research vehicle for the study of Instructionless learning, Scientific discovery, View application, Cognitive development, and Dual Space Search.