Someone turned a vintage rotary phone into an AI assistant, and so can you

For those who enjoy tinkering with vintage hardware, modifying retro equipment can be a rewarding endeavor. With many units now available at low prices due to their lack of utility, these devices can serve as excellent platforms for new projects. A prime example can be found on Hackster.io, where Ramazan Eren Arslan transformed a German rotary phone into an AI-powered assistant.

Arslan acquired the Deutsche Bundespost FeTAp 791 rotary phone from a flea market, though similar models can likely be found more affordably online. After dismantling the phone, he inserted a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and a USB sound card inside. Upon answering the receiver, users can dial 1 for German, 2 for English, or 3 for Turkish, routing their queries to Google Gemini 3.8 Live.

This setup essentially brings back the charm of those advice hotlines from the past, but at a significantly lower cost. The versatility of this project extends to other rotary phones as well. If you have an old rotary phone collecting dust or spot one at a reasonable price in a second-hand store, consider giving this AI assistant project a shot by visiting the Vintage Phone AI Assistant Hackster page.