Okay, everyone has heard of the "Universal" remote control, the one that learns from all your other remote controls and replaces them.

This one is slightly different and much smarter. A remote control with a large LCD screen (Common enough I hear you say..) Well, point this one at the Air Conditioner and the remote gets a signal, turns on the Air Conditioner LCD screen, so you have touch sensitive controls for temperature, mode etc on the screen. Okay, it gets better, point it at the TV and hey presto the TV style LCD is displayed, same deal for the Video Recorder, Hi-Fi system and all the other stuff that uses a remote. Hey, point it at you ADSL modem and it delivers your email to the screen a la "Blackberry"
-- Micky Dread, Sep 17 2005

IR RC API IR_20RC_20API
Functionally the same idea. [phoenix, Sep 19 2005]

Should be doable. iPaqs and the like can control Daikin and Mitsubishi indoor units via IR.
Am I right in thinking that you want to send a 'ping' request to the remote device that then broadcasts its ID back to the controller, whereupon the controller calls up the specific operator menu?.
If that is the case then you are dependant on the OEM manufacturer complying by adding this feature to their devices.
Neat idea, though.
-- gnomethang, Sep 17 2005


I like the idea. One problem is that IR signals bounce all over the place, so other devices will respond and not know any better. Have you ever tried changing channels on your TV by aiming at the right angle at the opposite wall?

Maybe if the devices used some kind of time delay to guess which device was in direct aim that might work... would be tricky though. But otherwise a neat idea [+]
-- ixnaum, Sep 18 2005


Yes [gnomethang] the idea is that each device has a unique code which is detected by the remote. The remote and device would, I imagine, have to have a reasonably narrow transmission beam, maybe something like ILS systems, but I don't know much about those, so other devices wouldn't intefere.
-- Micky Dread, Sep 18 2005


If the remote and each component were Wi-Fi based then this would work very well and be extremely useful. The difficulty is making a manufacturer see it as a money making feature. As strange as it may seem, things are NOT created to be the most convenient or useful, they are made to make the most money. As a consequence, this idea is brilliant but a hard sell. I like it though.
-- BritUSA, Sep 19 2005


I'd say a more standardized/easy way to actually make this happen is if each device/applicance was a web-server and your remote was a browser. You point it at any device and the device sends you a webpage that you can tap/click on and configure appropriately. Most routers these days have embedded web-servers on them to enable configuration.

If IPv6 was ubiquitous, each device would come with it's own IP address and things would be so much easier. I don't know if any of this will ever happen or not but this would be the way to go if it was gonna happen. No need to standardize IR codes and navigations, no need to collaborate platforms between competing companies. Everyone likes web/browser so nobody's gonna mind.
-- chime, Sep 19 2005


See link.
"If the standard included querying, a remote control (perhaps even a Palm Pilot) could query a given electronic device, then synch up its buttons to match the device."
-- phoenix, Sep 19 2005


Good to see ya posting again [Micky] abit surprised no musical vibro's are incorporated into this one though :)
-- skinflaps, Sep 20 2005



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