The Answering Machine
Screenless AI phone for curious kids to ask questions and explore
Visit tdaltonc.github.io ↗What is The Answering Machine?
The Answering Machine is a voice-based AI agent built into a retro rotary phone designed for children. Kids pick up the handset, ask questions, and receive spoken answers without any screen or app interface. The system uses Claude to process conversations and recommends books, outings, and activities to parents based on their child's curiosity.
The hardware bridges an analog phone to voice APIs, creating an intentional, distraction-free device that turns children's questions into real-world learning experiences. A privacy mode lets older kids ask sensitive questions without parent summaries being shared. The maker built this with Claude and Cartesia's voice API.
Momentum
Daily activity over the last 30 days: upvotes, unique visits, new GitHub stars and Hacker News points.
How do we know it's vibe coded?
vibetrend discovered The Answering Machine automatically. Evidence: HN post: "Hardware is a Grandstream ATA bridging an analog phone to Cartesia's voice API + Claude.". View source.
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