Remote control
A remote control (in Latin America) or remote control (in Spain) is an electronic device used to perform a remote or remote operation on a machine. They are often referred to simply as "command" or "control."
These phrases are generally used to refer to the remote control for the television or another type of home electronic device, such as DVD, Hi-Fi, computers, and to turn a switch on and off, the alarm, or open the parking gate. Remote controls for these devices are usually small objects (easily manipulated with one hand) with an array of buttons to adjust various settings, such as TV channel, song number, and volume. In fact, in most modern devices the remote contains all the control functions, while the controlled device itself only has the most primary controls. Most of these remote controls communicate with their respective devices via infrared (IR) signals and only a few use radio signals. In modern vehicles, the classic keys now incorporate remote controls with various functions. Its power source is usually small type batteries: AA, AAA or button.
History
One of the first examples of remote control or remote control was developed in 1898 by Nikola Tesla and described in his patent number 613809, entitled Method of an apparatus for the control mechanism of moving vehicle or vehicles . It only had three actions: on / off / still.
In 1903, Leonardo Torres Quevedo presented the telekino at the Paris Academy of Sciences, accompanied by a memoir and making an experimental demonstration. In that same year he obtained the patent in France, Spain, Great Britain and the United States. The telekino consisted of an automaton that executed orders transmitted by hertzian waves. From the simple "on/off" previous, Torres Quevedo devised a method to control any mechanical or electrical device with different states of operation. With the telekino, Torres Quevedo established the operational principles of the modern wireless remote control system and was a pioneer in the field of remote control. On September 25, 1906, in the presence of the King and before a large crowd, he successfully demonstrated the invention in the port of Bilbao by guiding a boat from the shore; later he would try to apply the telekino to shells and torpedoes, but had to abandon the project due to lack of funding. In 2006, the telekino was recognized by the IEEE as a "milestone", a 'milestone' for the history of engineering on a global scale. The first remote-controlled model airplane flew in 1932. During World War II, the use of remote-control technology for military purposes took place; one of the results of this was the German Wasserfall missile. The first contraption designed to remotely control a television was developed by Zenith Radio in the early 1950s. The control—unofficially called Lazy Bones (~for lazy people)—used a cable to connect to the TV. To improve on the cumbersome system, a wireless remote control was created in 1955. The control, called the "Flashmatic," worked by sending a beam of light to a photoelectric cell. Unfortunately, the cells did not distinguish between light from the controller and light from other sources. The Flashomatic also required the remote to be aimed precisely at the receiver.
In the 1930s, Ernesto Arias was also able to create a prototype, but wired, on his television, that's how it was, when he was making discoveries in his room, in one of those, he discovered an ignition cable, which he took out, and used it to make it work as one of the wired remote controls, despite the fact that its history is not known worldwide, he affirmed said action.
In 1956, Robert Adler developed the “Zenith Space Command” (Zenith Space Command), a wireless control. It was mechanical and used ultrasound to change the channel and volume. When the user pressed a button on the remote control, it clicked and hit a bar, hence the US term “Clicker” ( clicker ). Each bar emitted a different frequency and the circuitry in the television detected the noise. The invention of the transistor made possible cheaper electronic controls, which contained a piezoelectric crystal that was powered by an oscillating electrical current at a frequency close to or greater than the upper threshold of human hearing, though still audible to dogs. The receiver contained a microphone attached to a circuit that was set to the same frequency. Some problems with this method were that the receiver could be accidentally triggered by naturally occurring noise in that frequency range, and some people, especially young women, could hear the high-pitched ultrasonic signals. There was even a memorable incident, in which a xylophone changed the channels of that type of television, since some of the harmonics of the instrument were equal to the ultrasonic frequency of the remote control.
The impetus for a more complex type of remote control came in the late 1970s with the development of the Ceefax teletext service by the BBC. Most of the controls that existed back then had a limited number of functions, sometimes just four: next channel, previous channel, volume up or down.
This type of control did not meet the needs of televisions with teletext where the pages were identified with a three-digit number. A remote control for selecting teletext pages would need buttons for each number from zero to nine, as well as other functions, such as switching from text to image (and vice versa) and normal TV controls: volume, channel, brightness, color intensity, etc. Early teletext televisions used wired controls to select pages, but their continued use, required for teletext, quickly indicated the need for a wireless device. So BBC engineers began discussions with one or two TV manufacturers, which led to the first prototypes around 1977-78, already being able to control a greater number of functions. ITT was one of the companies, which would later give its name to the ITT Protocol for infrared communications. [1]
In the early 1980s, when semiconductors were developed to emit and receive infrared radiation, remote controls gradually shifted to this technology which, in the 19th century XXI, is still widely used. There are also radio technologies, such as Bose audio systems and those based on Bluetooth.
By the early 2000s, the number of appliances in most homes had increased dramatically. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the average American has four remote controls. To operate a "home theater" you may need six remotes, including one for the cable or satellite receiver, the VCR, the DVD player, the TV and the amplifier audio. Several of these controls need to be used sequentially, but since there is no accepted common design, the process becomes more intricate. Many specialists, such as Jakob Nielsen [2], a renowned usability specialist, and Robert Adler [3], the inventor of the current remote, point out how confusing, unwieldy and frustrating dealing with multiple remote controls has become. In that sense, TiVo's remote control designers have replaced the classic columns of buttons in a black rectangle with a peanut-shaped design that has been well received by its users. The design, which has spawned several imitations, likely marks a change in the way electronics designers view a controller.
Types
There are remote controls or radio controls for many other devices: scale models of airplanes, helicopters, and other radio-controlled models are quite popular toys. Many robots are controlled remotely, especially those that have been designed to carry out dangerous tasks; as well as some of the newer combat fighters are maneuvered by remote control.
In addition, a universal remote combines several controls into one, usually with some kind of switch or button to select the controlled device. Universal remotes range from cheap basic models to a controller like Sony's $700 Linux model [4]. The first universal remote control model was developed by William Russell McIntyre in the mid-1960s while he was working at Philips. McIntyre's software design was granted patents, as it was the first remote control that could point itself at an electronic device and learn its operating controls.
The next step in remote controls is home control panels. These remote controls not only work on televisions or entertainment systems, but also allow you to control other electrical devices such as electronic curtains, light switches and security cameras. Some of the latest home control panels allow streaming audio as well as taking pictures.
Sometimes remote-controlled firearms are used to hunt birds or other animals. In 2005, the state of Virginia (United States) prohibited this practice [5].
Technology
Most remote controls for home appliances use near-infrared emitting diodes to emit a beam of light to reach the device. This light is invisible to the human eye, but it carries signals that can be detected by the device.
A single channel remote control allows you to send a carrier signal, used to activate a certain function. For multi-channel remote controls, more sophisticated procedures are needed; one of them consists of modulating the carrier signal with signals of different frequencies. After demodulation of the received signal, appropriate frequency filters are applied to separate the respective signals. Today, digital methods are often used.
In general, a remote control is made up of:
- A housing.
- A platelet: where connections are found for different functions.
- A power supply: usually two 1.5 volt batteries.
- Buttons: each with a different function.
Operation
Buttons have a material on the back that conducts electricity. When the button is pressed, this material makes contact with the board and closes the circuit that corresponds to the button. A small integrated circuit recognizes the signal and determines which button was pressed; based on that information, it sends a signal to the quartz (crystal) resonator; it returns it with a certain frequency. That impulse is transmitted to an LED that sends it converted into infrared radiation. The receiver (for example, a television) can recognize the button pressed by measuring the frequency of the radiation.
Applications
Industry
The remote control is used to operate substations, reversible hydroelectric power plants and HVDC plants. Low frequency PLCs are often used for these systems.
Military Applications
The use of remote control in military vehicles dates back to the early 20th century. The Red Army used remotely controlled teletanks during the 1930s and the beginning of World War II. They also experimented with remote controlled airplanes. Nazi Germany also encouraged the use of remote control with the V-1 and V-2 bombs.
Astronautic
Remote control technology is also used in space travel. For example, in the Soviet Lunokhod program, the vehicles were operated by remote control. Direct remote control of ships, cars, and spacecraft at greater distances from Earth was impractical as it generated a large signal delay.
Video Games
The cable as such has been very uncomfortable in terms of the video game franchise, almost all consoles have had a certain problem with the annoying cable that connects the controller to the console, that was a very annoying problem until Wireless controllers were invented for a better gaming experience, starting with infrared wireless controllers on 8-bit and 16-bit consoles like the Megadrive, and becoming popular with the hit Wii game console.
Electronic devices
It is used to turn on or off some electronic devices such as air conditioning or some modern lights or fans. Another application can be for the car.
Daily use
Remote controls are also being applied to everyday use for garages or automatic doors. Normally we talk about garage doors or the doors of commercial premises. In the past, all the metal shutters in shops and the doors of industrial buildings did not have these automatisms. At present there are also alternatives to these controls but with the same use, perhaps more secure. [6]