Remote control. History of invention and production

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HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, OBJECTS AROUND US
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Remote control. History of invention and production

The history of technology, technology, objects around us

Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us

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Remote control (RC, remote control; RCU, English remote control unit) - an electronic device for remote (remote) control of another electronic device at a distance. Remote controls are used as part of the remote control of an object, both mobile (for example, UAVs), and devices and mechanisms on mobile objects (airplanes, spaceships, ships, etc.), as well as control of production processes, communication systems, high technology danger.

Programmable remote control

Structurally, the remote control is usually a small box containing an electronic circuit, control buttons and (often) an autonomous power source. Widely used for remote control of consumer electronic equipment (TVs, music centers, air conditioners, etc. audio-video equipment).

Saying the phrase "Laziness is the engine of progress", they usually cite the television remote control as an example. In fact, the driving force that led to the appearance of this most useful item was not laziness at all, but a stronger feeling - hatred.

Eugene McDonald, founder of the Zenith television corporation, simply hated advertising. In 1946, he declared that the concept of advertising-based television was doomed to a quick death because advertising money would not pay for expensive (compared to radio) television programs. In his opinion, the best broadcasting model would be paid channels (as we now see, McDonald was not so wrong). However, advertising on TV was not going to die, and then McDonald decided to contribute to its death. He challenged the company's engineers to create a device that could change channels and mute the sound from a distance so that TV owners could ignore commercials.

In 1950, Zenith released the first remote control. Its name - Lazy Bones, "Lazy Bones" - emphasized that the owner does not have to get up from the couch. The remote control was connected to the TV with a wire, when the button was pressed, the electric motor rotated the mechanical channel switch. In addition to the fact that these remotes were expensive, the owners often stumbled over the wire stretching through the living room, and besides, there were very few TV channels at that time, so this invention was not a commercial success.

Remote control Zenith Space Commander 500, 1958

In 1955, Flash-Matic entered the market - the first wireless remote control in the form of a flashlight, which had to be directed to one of the photodetectors located at the corners of the front panel (depending on which angle the light was on, it was possible to change channels, mute the sound or turn off the TV). But this console did not gain much popularity, since lamps and sunlight greatly interfered with its work. Something better was needed. Radio control looked promising, but it switched channels with equal success, so one of the company's top engineers, Robert Adler, suggested using ultrasound.

The company's marketers insisted that the device should not have batteries, and Adler came up with an ingenious solution - a mechanical ultrasonic emitter. When a button was pressed, a spring-loaded hammer pounded on one of the four tuning forks, and the TV, equipped with a microphone, changed channels, muted the sound or turned off.

In 1956, the Space Command console hit the market with great success, and by 1959, almost all TV manufacturers supplied their expensive models with similar remotes. In the 1960s, batteries appeared in the remotes - the emitters of ultrasound became electronic, and only in the 1980s did manufacturers switch to the recently appeared IR LEDs.

Around the same time, an old dream of McDonald, who died in 1958, came true - mass pay television, satellite and cable, appeared. Alas, over time, advertising leaked to pay channels, so that another dream of McDonald's - a remote control - is still relevant.

By the early 2000s, the number of household electrical appliances had increased dramatically. Five or six remotes may be required to control a home theater system: from a satellite receiver, a VCR, a DVD player, a television and an audio amplifier. Some of them need to be used one after the other, and due to the disparity of the control systems, this becomes burdensome. Many experts, including renowned usability expert Jakob Nielsen and inventor of the modern remote control, Robert Adler, have commented on how confusing and clumsy it is to use multiple remotes.

The appearance of a PDA with an infrared port made it possible to create universal remote controls with programmable control. However, due to the high cost, this method has not become very common. Special universal learning control panels have not become widespread either due to the relative complexity of programming and use. It is also possible to use some mobile phones to remotely control (via Bluetooth) a personal computer.

Author: S.Apresov

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It turned out that players sleep an average of 7,01 hours a day, while women sleep an average of 7,5 minutes longer than men. Eastern European countries such as Albania, Slovakia, Romania and the Czech Republic slept the most, half an hour longer than the global average, while Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia slept the least.

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