My idea is still that this is a standalone remote that can connect to whatever home automation system you are using. If that is the case, I assume people already have a Harmony hub or other device that can blast IR signals. The dock is there for charging and to display the remote in a nice way.
Still, if you want, you can modify the dock and add all the features you need. For this release, I am not going to focus on adding more and more features to the dock or the remote. I think where it is right now is a good combination of buttons and other features (haptic feedback, etc.).
Somewhere I have to draw the line, otherwise it’s never going to happen. I am trying to take all your feedback and suggestions, but I am distilling it down to what actually fits inside the case or possible to do without drastically increasing the costs or the time it needs for development.
Regarding the buttons, I don’t think that more buttons will solve problems. I think if the UI and the physical buttons work together and create an intuitive interface, there is no need for extra buttons. And that is my goal: combining the buttons with the touch UI in a way that is makes sense.
I second that! Thats the problem of a lot of projects (hard and or software). I’d rather have 10 features which are working than 100 buggy/unfinished features, or 0 because the project got canceled / ran out of time.
Agree that not adding any hardware to the dock is good; In any case, if there is space inside for an ESP32 or Pi zero or what have you then we are free to add this ourselves.
This would be perfect to use with my SimpleControl setup that Ive managed to trigger activities through HA. What would the expected total price be for a fully assembled unit?
It depends on the demand. I haven’t gotten prices for all the parts needed but for the remote kit version, so including:
Bead blasted and black anodised aluminium case
3D printed back cover
Display
Acrylic plates to cover the buttons
Professionally made silicone rubber buttons with silkscreened icons/text
PCB
Haptic motor
Screws
3D printed charging port insert
Pogo pins
Magnets
JST-PH plug and wires
NOT including:
Raspberry Pi Zero W
2500mAh battery
Qi charging coil
The price is going to be between $250-$280. This is just a very very early preliminary number and it will change as I get more and more quotes in. It can be more or it can be less. Low volume production is unfortunately not easy and cheap.
I would love to get a kit when ready, just thinking about the 3D-printed parts, are they SLS or something fancy or FDM?
If FDM I would prefer printing them myself on my Prusa MK3.
I have a harmony elite that freezes/hangs frequently (but the hub works with app) and have searched for something to replace it, the Neeo looked promising on first glance but I’m happy I did some research first and decided it was the wrong remote for me.
Your project makes me really exited as it’s home-assistant friendly
Just a quick update. I’ve finalised the schematics for now. Routed the PCBs and placing an order for a couple to test out as prototypes. I’ll report back when they arrive. Hopefully they will work
I have been working on the software the whole weekend. Started from scratch and reworked it to support integrations to not just Home Assistant, but to other systems. Hopefully it will be easy to add more and more integrations. Controlling different entities will be component based. So there will be a component to control lights, blinds, etc. These will just send a high level command, that will be interpreted by the integration. I think this will work.
I’m building 1-2 components to show how I imagined the system and then I’ll push it to github, so developers could pitch in with ideas and help
PCBs, aluminium cases and rubber buttons with silkscreen are on the way. I’m building 2 remotes to test the final materials, design, etc. I’ll report back when they arrive
I have just uploaded a working version of the rewritten software. Only the light component is half-ready so far, but most of the work was done on making multiple integrations easy to add and figuring out how the components should be added.
Lot’s of things happened. The remote got a name: Yio Remote. Yio stands for Your I/O (input output) remote. Also I have set up a forum, where we can talk about the remote in more detail and maybe structure the discussion:
Cool people already contributed to the project by creating translations, which is amazing
I am working on finishing the first components, meanwhile waiting for the PCBs to arrive. Hopefully next week.
Things are getting exciting and I hope you can get your hands on the kit as soon as possible
Made some progress in the Easter break. I’ve been sharing a lot of it on discord, but thought I’d share it here as well.
we moved the translation of the app to Qt’s own solution. This helped to streamline the process a lot. We already have 100% support for a couple of languages. If you’d like to help translate the rest, feel free to check out our translation page.
Many things happened in the app itself. Dashboard works now, you are able to add and remove your favorits to that page. The room page also works, gathering all your devices into rooms. This will be expanded even more in the near future. The settings page is fully functional with auto brightness, dark mode, cleaning mode, power saving options, language selectors, information about the remote and options to add more hubs and devices here. The latter is an ongoing plan to merge the setup app into the main app to give you a more streamlined user experience.
Some cool people are looking at the code and learning about the app and hopefully they will develop more cool integrations!
And last the most exciting thing: Next week, the PCBs and the aluminium case will arrive. Expect a lot of pictures and frequent updates!
For some screengrabs, check out the forum post here:
There has been some progress with the remote. The buttons have arrived and they are working as they should. Here is a post about it:
Also as it is getting closer and closer for the kit-release, I am doing a poll over in the Yio Remote forums to see the demand for the kit. If you would like to purchase a kit, please head over to the forum poll and cast your vote Thanks!
It has been a while since, I posted here, but the project is moving forward with full throttle. I have built a couple of remotes and testing the hardware to check everything is working as it should. Otherwise all the parts are there, just need to figure out the final price for the kit and the logistics how to get it to the ones that are interested.
But I think the display would be the first to break.