Robocalls | Fight Bots with Bots
Robocalls | Fight Bots with Bots
Let a robot answer your phone for you.
This video demonstrates how to use automation to combat robocalls by having a bot answer your phone and handle unwanted calls automatically. If they're going to use robots to call you, why not use a robot to answer?
The Solution: Callen
The project featured in this video is called Callen, a bot designed to intercept and handle robocalls.
Source Code: Callen on Bitbucket
How It Works
The system uses:
- IVR (Interactive Voice Response) - Automated menu systems to interact with callers
- Audio processing - Handling incoming audio from callers
- VoIP integration - Working with phone systems
- Librem 5 integration - Tested and demonstrated on the Librem 5 Linux phone
- Automatically answers incoming calls
- Can detect and handle robocalls
- Wastes robocallers' time with automated responses
- Protects your time and attention from spam calls
Features
Why This Matters
Robocalls have become an epidemic, with billions of spam calls made every year. Traditional blocking methods are reactive - you have to receive the call first before you can block the number. This approach is proactive, letting a bot handle the call so you never have to.
By making robocalling less profitable (wasting their time with bots), we can help reduce the incentive for these spam operations.