THE VAONIS FOUNDER &CEO ON HIGH HOPES, TELESCOPES AND REACHING FOR THE STARS

STUFF MEETS

Cyril Dupuy

Vaoniswas founded in 2016 in Montpellier, whereIwas born, but the idea of a smart telescope cametomeafewyearsbefore thatwhenIwasanopticsand aerospace student.

My passion for astronomy started after avisit to the Nice Observatory during my teenage years. I fell in love with telescope design and started to buy afew of them, dismantle them and rebuild them to understand how they worked.

EverytimeIinvitedpeopleto observe the night sky through a telescope, they expressed adesiretocapturephotosof what theysaw.

This coincided with the era of GoPro –the rise of accessible and user-friendly tech for capturing experiences. So Iembarked on amission to create adevice that was easy to use and carry but still capable of enabling people to effortlessly capture the marvels of the universe.

Idroppedoutofuniversityto dedicatemyselftoVaonis’s first smart telescope.

Icreated the company Vaonis and my vision materialised into the Stellina, our first smart telescope, which was launched in 2018. It wasarisky move that worried my parents! But looking back now, Ican proudly say it was the right call.

TheStellinaandVesperaare a combination of telescope andcamera, controlledby an embedded computer and connected to your phone.

They’re both designed to be user-friendly, offering aplug-and-play experience. And the software is continually upgradeable, enhancing the user experience over time by incorporating new features.

With the Hestia, we’re pushing the limits of miniaturisation tomake theexperience easier and more accessible.

The Hestia alone doesn’t qualify as asmart telescope since it lacks an embedded computer, camera, mechanical components and electronics. But when paired with aphone it transforms into one, using the power of the owner’s mobile to provide aconnected stargazing experience.

Thisisthenextevolutionof portable telescopes, using the power of smartphone sensors tophotographthesun,the moon and the cosmos.

The Hestia is acompact and sleek device –the size and weight of abook –designed with modern stargazers in mind. The design incorporates our signature elemen