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The Batteryless Remote Control

Arveni is a European company that has developed a system remote that is powered by the ambient energy the user applies to the buttons on the remote control. While the technology is still being proto-typed, we got an exclusive look at their batteryless remote control.

Hosted by: Terry Knight Videography by: Curtis Ellzey Edited by: Terry Knight

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Published Nov 19 2009, 05:11 AM by Terry Knight
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  • Comments

     

    Frank said:

    just brilliant, a step toward cleaner consumer products.

    November 21, 2009 4:18 PM
     

    Bill said:

    New? Hardly. We had these back in the 1960s.

    November 25, 2009 1:14 PM
     

    Sam said:

    this will never work for lazy Americans.

    November 25, 2009 1:20 PM
     

    Jeff Michaud said:

    Sorry to say but this is NOT the first batteryless remote control.  Robert Adler did it in 1956 with the Zenith Space Command.

    www.washingtonpost.com/.../AR2007021602102.html

    November 25, 2009 1:28 PM
     

    Jim said:

    They need to check back to the ultrasonic remotes that we used to have. Those didn't have batteries either!

    Maybe the claim should be changed to 'batteryless electronic remote'

    (Is batteryless a real word? or should it be battery less?)

    November 25, 2009 1:53 PM
     

    Karl Dolgener said:

    Whoopie doo.

    November 25, 2009 2:01 PM
     

    Eric V. Berger said:

    Been there done that fifty years ago.

    www.washingtonpost.com/.../AR2007021602102.html

    November 25, 2009 2:13 PM
     

    Grumbling said:

    Why don't we use the same tech that those shake flashlights use? I bet most consumer remotes could make use of this.

    I'm usually smacking my remotes around to make them work anyway.

    Percussive Maintenance FTW!

    November 25, 2009 2:26 PM
     

    Vee said:

    Actually TV sets did have a battery less remote before although it worked differently. It used tuning bars that were struck at higher frequency than humans can hear when you pressed the buttons. The TV had a sound sensor that could hear these sounds and change channels. It was around in the 60's or 70's like Bill said.

    November 25, 2009 2:29 PM
     

    BRETT said:

    back in the 60's

    i invented the "stick"

    forked at the end

    to turn the dial

    ...........................damn I'm old

    November 25, 2009 2:40 PM
     

    Dave said:

    Like Bill said, we had these in the 1960s. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

    November 25, 2009 2:48 PM
     

    Mike S said:

    Very Cool, and about time.

    November 25, 2009 2:49 PM
     

    Joe Stanley said:

    There were remote controls for Televisions 50 years ago that didn't use batteries.  They used push buttons that operated little tuning forks that produced tones that the control circuits in the television responded to.  

    November 25, 2009 3:30 PM
     

    Texan 2112 said:

    The older ones had an internal tuning fork that required a bit of force,  My mom would tell my dad,  'Hand me the clunker'.

    November 25, 2009 3:54 PM
     

    Randy said:

    Unimpressed.

    November 25, 2009 3:55 PM
     

    The Bargee said:

    Zenith had a no battery remote donkeys years ago, not sure of the the technology but it wasn't IR.

    November 25, 2009 6:08 PM
     

    arkansascajun said:

    don't you people ever watch INSTRUCTABLES??? geek hackers have been making PIEZOELECTRIC powered remotes for years. true only ON/OFF and channel up down but still way ahead of these con artists ( probably where they git it from ) and ya BILL is correct. the VERY FIRST remote controls were batteryless.... DUHHHH!

    November 25, 2009 8:20 PM
     

    mark said:

    Oh yea, that was really difficult to figure out.  Heck I need to be an engineer I guess.  They took a barbuque spark lighter and hooked it up to a condenser to store the charge long enough to activate the controller.  I don't want one.

    November 25, 2009 8:23 PM
     

    phill h said:

    why not just have solar powered ones how easy?

    November 25, 2009 11:17 PM
     

    Joe said:

    In the 60s my father had a bateryless remote, ME! LOL

    November 26, 2009 12:23 AM
     

    Kelly Smith said:

    I hate to bust your bubble guys, but in the mid 60's my best friends parents had a TV with remote that used no batteries.  The buttons were spring loaded like a grill lighter button, only the recoil produced a particular sound that the TV picked up and turned the TV on and off.  The channel button made a different tone and sound adjustment was another tone.  

    November 26, 2009 10:06 AM
     

    Rick said:

    I remember my parents having a set that had a clicker remote. Dad said it worked from the sound differences in the channel vs volume buttons. Being a four year old, I took the remote apart-No batteries! It never worked again tho, lol. Shortly after that, I attempted to charge D cell batteries with a jumper wire and the empty socket of a night light. Thank God for fuses

    November 26, 2009 7:20 PM
     

    AlbuquerqueTurque said:

    our zenith space command would go ding, and the tv would go whop, whop, whop (changing channels).  To this day our family refers to the tv remote as the "dingy-whopper

    "

    November 26, 2009 7:22 PM
     

    Rick said:

    Was thinking, did these guys just reverse engineer a clapper-clap on/clap off-the clapper

    November 26, 2009 7:24 PM
     

    Jon Wiggins said:

    Solar will work as long as we continue to use INCANDESCENT lamps.  CFLs and LEDs can't charge them, and most people are not going to lay their remote in direct sunlight.  Low-E windows will cut solar efficiency too.

    November 30, 2009 1:49 PM
     

    Radio-active said:

    Besides the Zenith system, there was also the Maggotbox -- oops Magnavox system, this remote consisted of a bellows beneath each key, blew air through an ultrasonic whistle. Worked pretty good, too. No batteries, just thumb power required.

    December 14, 2009 10:59 AM
     

    Dave Wreski said:

    Maybe a old idea. Maybe it will double as a lighter, but so many batteries in the landfill doesn't help either.

    December 14, 2009 8:13 PM

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