Tired of talking to ‘ugly plastic boxes’ like modern smart speakers, Bengaluru’s Pankaj upcycled his grandfather’s classic phone — while preserving its nostalgic charm — into a smart AI device.
The unique, voice-controlled AI assistant is now sparking buzz on social media.
From the outside, it looks like a simple vintage telephone from the 1970s, however, there’s a twist. As soon as the receiver is picked up, the system activates to listen for voice. After saying the “Hey Kiri” wake-phrase, the AI assistant begins working, and the user can give commands.
He wrote in the X post, “I just pick up the phone, say ‘Hey Kiri,’ and start talking to it — like booking a cab, scheduling a meeting, ordering Maggi, turning off the lights, or summarising my emails. It does almost everything.”
Pankaj built the entire setup for about Rs 2,307.
i was tired of talking to ugly plastic boxes. so i turned my grandfather’s old rotary phone into an ai assistant
i pick it up, say “hey kiri” and just talk like book a cab, schedule a meeting, order me maggi, turn off the lights, summarise my emails literally anything and it… pic.twitter.com/JvX4MOY9T7
— Pankaj (@the2ndfloorguy) March 9, 2026
Netizens react:
A user commented, “You are a legend! But more than demo i loved the sic phone you got there.” Another wrote, “Using old hardware to build something new is such a fun way to learn.” “Looks cool in retro style,” added a third user.
