Justin and Trevor from Apollo Automation stop by to share their journey of turning a hobby project into a thriving customer-focussed home automation manufacturer Watch the full episode on YouTube https://hasspodcast.io/ha191 Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:02 Apollo Automation's Origin 00:02:02 Company Growth and Operations 00:02:23 In-house Manufacturing and Distribution 00:02:55 Community-driven Development 00:03:11 Unique Product Insights and Development 00:04:03 Branding and Logo Evolution 00:05:51 Interactive Community Engagement 00:10:21 Working with Home Assistant Program 00:12:35 Product Line and Hardware Design 00:20:13 Current and Upcoming Products 00:23:20 Favorite Products and Future Plans 00:26:21 Introduction to Integration Protocols 00:26:48 ESP Chip and Compatibility 00:27:41 Challenges with Matter and Future Plans 00:30:42 Open Source Sustainability and Modularity 00:35:10 Home Automation Personal Experiences 00:38:51 Tariffs and Manufacturing Challenges 00:44:00 3D Printing and Product Evolution 00:52:59 Ozone Sensor Features 00:53:12 3D Printing Options and Accessibility 00:53:30 Meeting at CES 00:54:00 Passion and Dedication of Founders 00:54:40 Home Assistant's Growth and Significance 00:55:32 Self-Hosting and Privacy Advocacy 00:55:48 Open Source Contributions 01:01:34 Future Product Development Support the Podcast Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon. Support Rohan and Phil on Patreon This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML. Zooz If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers. So for the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to thesmartesthouse.com ExpressVPN ExpressVPN Creates a secure, encrypted tunnel between your device and the internet - so that 12 year old with Raspberry Pi can’t steal your sensitive data. Get four months extra FREE when you use our code expressvpn.com/hasspodcast Hosts Phil Hawthorne Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @philhawthorne Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com Buy Phil a Coffee Rohan Karamandi Website Smart Home Products Twitter: @rohank9 Buy Rohan a Coffee Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
