Apollo Automation launches the ESPHome Starter Kit, a modular, solder-free platform based on Espressif’s ESP32-C6, enabling users to create customised smart home devices locally with minimal technical skills.
Apollo Automation has introduced the ESPHome Starter Kit, a modular smart-home development platform built around Espressif’s ESP32-C6. The company says the system is aimed at people who want to build ESPHome devices without soldering, breadboards or code, and that it can run entirely locally either on its own or alongside Home Assistant.
At the centre of the kit is the ESPHome C6 Board, which uses the ESP32-C6-MINI-1 module. Apollo says the hardware supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE and Thread, with Zigbee support also available for more advanced uses. The board includes USB-C connectivity, an onboard RGB LED and support for a rechargeable 3.7V LiPo battery, giving it the basic ingredients of a compact connected device rather than a fixed single-purpose sensor.
The kit is sold as a snap-apart PCB panel with interchangeable modules. Apollo lists a button module, a temperature and humidity module based on the AHT20F, an LED and buzzer module with 10 addressable RGB LEDs and a PIR motion module. The board can handle two modules at once, which means users can combine functions such as motion sensing and environmental monitoring on the same device.
Setup is handled through ESPHome Device Builder, a graphical tool that lets users pick components, build firmware and flash the ESP32-C6. Apollo says initial programming is done over USB-C and later updates can be delivered over the network. YAML configuration is still available for users who want deeper control, but it is not required for the standard build process.
Once configured, the device can be managed through ESPHome’s local web server or added to Home Assistant, where sensors, buttons and lights appear as entities that can feed dashboards and automations. Apollo says no cloud service, subscription or account is needed. The company also says it developed the kit with the Open Home Foundation and that most of the profit from each unit is donated to support ESPHome, Home Assistant and other open-source smart-home projects.
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