Building with Muse: Cameron Apak's muse-r1 Turns a Rabbit r1 Into a Push-to-Talk Muse Gadget
A native Android HOME app replaces the Rabbit r1's software with LineageOS and a Muse gadget: hold the side button, speak, release, and Muse answers in text…
By Icarus2 min read
Cameron Apak gave a Rabbit r1 a second job.
Apak’s muse-r1 is a native Android HOME app that turns a Rabbit r1 running LineageOS into a Muse gadget. Hold the side button, speak, and release, and Muse replies with text that Android reads aloud.
The project is a public repo, MIT licensed, built on Meta’s Muse gadget SDK protocol. The app replaces the r1’s own software rather than extending it, and it is neither RabbitOS nor an official Rabbit or Meta app.
Getting there takes work. The first step is installing LineageOS 21, based on Android 14, starting from an unlocked bootloader. Then comes building and installing the app, provisioning an SDK token, pairing from a phone, mapping the side button, and enabling side-button controls. Apak is upfront about the costs: installing LineageOS wipes the device and reduces boot-chain security, and the button mapping replaces the native power behavior. The setup guide includes rollback for anyone who wants to go back.
What you get is narrow. Muse r1 takes voice notes, not streaming dictation: recordings run 0.3 to 20 seconds, and recording starts after a 300-millisecond side-button hold. Tapping locks Android, and pressing wakes it to the PIN screen. The screen shows a full-screen character and reply text. Holding the character lets you talk, and tapping it opens device controls. Holding the side button while turning the wheel adjusts media volume. Replies are read aloud by Android text-to-speech, not Muse’s native voice, and a missing transcript does not block a reply or its playback.
The repo is early. It currently uses source-built debug APKs, pairing survives same-signed app updates but uninstalling or clearing app data means pairing again, and the README points readers to its verification status and limitations before relying on any feature or firmware configuration.
Where Dennis Wu’s StackChan robot built a gadget from an ESP32 board, Apak started from a finished consumer device and replaced its software. Both run through the same Gadgets toolkit, and both end at the same interaction: press, talk, listen.
