Developer builds an AI Tamagotchi before Meta's Muse Charm
In brief
- A journalist built an open-source Muse Charm clone for $50 using a Waveshare ESP32-S3 device.
- The gadget was fully reprogrammed with Claude Code AI to add features like voice history or a Tamagotchi game.
- Meta’s server latency and lack of native programmability limit the appeal of consumer AI gadgets.
A journalist built an open-source clone of Meta’s upcoming Muse Charm gadget for under $50 using a Waveshare ESP32-S3 device. According to *The Verge*, this kit, officially recommended by Meta, connects to the Muse AI cloud via open-source code and tokens.
Initially limited to a static avatar and slow responses, the gadget was fully reprogrammed with the help of Claude Code AI. The author added features like a conversation history, voice synthesis, a Tamagotchi-style minigame for avatars, and remote smartphone camera control. Despite these upgrades, latency issues persist on Meta’s servers.
The project highlights the limitations of consumer AI gadgets, designed to look cute but offering little utility without technical skills. The article questions the real value of Meta’s official Muse Charm, due for release this holiday season, compared to reprogrammable open-source alternatives like this DIY prototype.
This summary gives you the essentials. The full article, its figures and quotes are on AI | The Verge.
Read the original articleAI-generated summary of the source, checked by rules. How we write · Report an error