SunnyCalls

Inspiration

Every day, countless family stories and legacies are slipping away, lost forever because they are not documented in time. This irreplaceable data—our elders’ memories, wisdom, and experiences—vanishes unless we act to preserve it. SunnyCalls was born from this realization, inspired by our own family’s experience.

Creating a family storybook can take years. We want to make it easier for families everywhere to save these stories before they disappear, while also addressing a deeper issue: loneliness among elders.

Loneliness is becoming an epidemic as elders grow more dependent on their families, while their children juggle increasingly busy lives and responsibilities. With the global population aging rapidly—often referred to as the "silver tsunami"—we saw an urgent need for tools that connect and support older loved, ensuring their stories are preserved and they feel valued and engaged.

What it does

SunnyCalls makes scheduled AI-driven calls to elder loved ones. These calls check in on their well-being, engage them in meaningful conversations, and capture their life stories. Families receive regular updates about their loved ones and access to a continuously growing, beautifully packaged digital and printed memory book of stories. The service combines cognitive stimulation and emotional connection, ensuring elders feel valued and remembered.

How we built it

We used Next.js, React, TypeScript, and Vercel for the front end, creating a modern and scalable platform. For voice agents, we integrated VAPI, which enabled us to pass information and personalize the calls. Superinterface was essential for building the AI-powered chat experience, streamlining onboarding for users. We used Qstash to schedule the calls automatically, ensuring consistency and efficiency in daily interactions. Each component was designed with privacy, consent, and emotional warmth in mind.

Challenges we ran into

Learning VAPI: Setting up voice agents and passing information was challenging, particularly without access to a US number for testing.
Scheduling Calls: Configuring Qstash to handle consistent, reliable call scheduling required significant troubleshooting.
User Experience: Balancing simplicity in the interface with robust functionality for AI workflows was a constant challenge.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully creating a seamless multi-agent flow using Superinterface.
Building a system that combines AI and human warmth to preserve life stories and support elders.
Overcoming technical hurdles to make the platform scalable and user-friendly.

What we learned

We gained invaluable experience integrating advanced tools like VAPI and Qstash while ensuring an intuitive user experience. More importantly, we learned how impactful small, consistent interactions can be in fostering connection and preserving family memories.

What's next for SunnyCalls

We plan to:

Expand support for more languages and regional customizations.
Develop a video call option using Simli avatar to add another layer of engagement, and add an option to create an "AI digital twin" of the person trained on their video recordings, phone call transcripts and other data.
Add additional features for notifying the elderly person's family about some critical issues or health conditions, and some specific needs of an elderly person.
Partner with elder care organizations and nonprofits to bring SunnyCalls to a broader audience.

SunnyCalls is just the beginning of what we hope will be a movement to connect families, preserve legacies, and ensure no elder feels forgotten.