Moon camera: smart guardian of your home

#Moon #Sergo Ohanov

Moon flying camera is an automatic home control center, developed in Armenia. The startup will start crowdfunding for mass production in July.

The startup is co-founded by Igor Khachaturyan and Sergo Ohanov. The latter gave an interview to Itel.am.

-Could you name Moon’s most important functions?

-With the help of special mobile app, Moon allows to control different processes at your home: temperature, TV channels, lighting etc. It also allows you to see what is going on at your home at a given time.

Soundless camera can achieve 360 degree rotation, filming the whole house and sending the information to you.

Moon has sound analysis mechanism: if your child starts crying or a window breaks, you will be informed about it. The device is also useful during various conferences, as it records speeches without additional sounds in the area.

photo © Moon

This camera can integrate with other smart devices in the house. Major players know perfectly well that the market is rapidly developing year after year, so competing with each other would be a mistake. We need to pursue the idea of integration along with competition to move home systems to automation.

-Will mass production allow implementation of this process in Armenia?

-We have discussed the issue for a long time now. Everything that is possible to do in Armenia will be done in Armenia. If we have reliable providers, we are ready to implement the whole process in Armenia even at higher prices. For example, we need aluminum corpuses, but we have not yet received any offer from Armenia.

We will start crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo in July. Crowdfunding gives people the opportunity to acquire the product at lower prices even before the mass production.

-Smart homes are not yet popular in Armenia, so how do you think we can incorporate automation solutions in Armenia?

-We need simple solutions, and Moon can become one of them. For example, importers of technical equipment can try to be bolder and bring in smart solutions. Of course, those will not be sold in one day, but a number of businesses are now keen on trying innovation.

We do everything possible to contribute to Armenia’s development, but currently we are targeting foreign markets.

- By the way, Moon is the second useful smart solution launched in Armenia after the smart wallet, Volterman.

- I’d like to note that the two startups share a common strategy of facilitating development of crowdfunding in Armenia and support the projects where crowdfunding is the preferable option.

photo © Moon

- What do you think is necessary to upgrade Armenia’s IT sector?

- First we need to improve the offer and demand platforms. Many people hear about IT sector but don’t know which IT direction to take. People on the side of demand should provide more information to those concerned; perhaps, it’s necessary on the state level.

I teach at the Faculty of International Relations of YSU and I have students who came to IT by switching fields, as IT needs other specialists apart from web developers. No product can hope to climb the top without progress.

A lot has been done in recent years, actually, through the projects of both the Enterprise Incubator Foundation and the Union of Information Technology Enterprises, but the potential is so huge that much more can be done still. I believe the IT sector’s 20% growth is a very low index.

I have high hopes for Sevan Startup Summit that’ll take place in July. Many entrepreneurs will attend it, which can facilitate rapid increase of investment in the sector.

photo © Moon

- What advice would you give to Armenian startups as entrepreneur?

- I’d recommend them to pay attention to organizational matters and approach mentors without getting embarrassed, as founders of all successful companies admit to taking mentors’ advice.

Successful people in Armenia are especially eager to share their experience and give recommendations. Startups should be careful with who they follow, what kind of team they build, etc. You also need to do full estimation; it’s better to put a high price on the product than attract customers with low prices and then become unable to complete the business.

Narine Daneghyan talked to Sergo Ohanov