Give Grandma a Call on the Grannophone

While our connected world does seem to come with some negative effects, it is undeniable that modern technology is very useful for helping people communicate. But while that technology is second nature to digital natives, it can be hard for many older people to understand. Anyone with elderly parents or grandparents can empathize with the frustration of trying to engage in a simple video call. To help the grandmas of the world stay in touch with their families, Stefan Baur designed the Grannophone.

The Grannophone is a video calling device, but streamlined to be as easy to operate as possible. From grandma's perspective, it is just like answering a call on an old-fashioned landline phone. When little Johnny wants to speak with nana, he can dial her up on his Grannophone. Her Grannophone will then start ringing and the video call will automatically commence when she picks up her handset. She can then communicate through the familiar handset while looking at the screen to see a live video of Johnny on the other end.

Services like FaceTime can do the same thing, but they (and smartphones in general) are confusing to many older people. The Grannophone is comforting and approachable.

In the simplest configuration, two Grannophones are tied together and picking up the handset on one will automatically dial the other. But more advanced configurations are also possible, which would let a Grannophone user call any other Grannophone in their directory, similar to speed dialing. The former configuration keeps things very straightforward, while the latter allows for communication with multiple family members.

Grannophone is still in development and so there isn't yet a finalized design, but the current iteration uses a Raspberry Pi single-board computer and a large LCD screen. A DAC (digital-to-analog converter), amplifier, and speaker provide the ringing sound or speaker phone capability, while normal audio output and microphone input go through the handset. The current enclosure is a simple box made of laser-cut plywood.

Baur also put some thought into security to ensure that granny doesn't get scammed. Resting the handset on the Grannophone pushes a cover down over the camera lens, ensuring privacy. And calls route through a VPN and only connections to other trusted Grannophones are possible, so no Nigerian princes can give grams a ring.

If you like this concept, Baur needs help to finish development of the Grannophone. In particular, those fluent in both English and German can assist Baur in translating the German documentation into English.