Will it disappear after so many years? A review of the history of remote controls.

　　For televisions, the most important device for human-computer interaction is the remote control, which provides great convenience. With the increasing richness of television functions in recent years, such as the addition of smart operating systems and internet elements, televisions have become more complex, and it seems that remote controls will be replaced by voice and mobile phone controls.

　　Many people predict that remote controls will gradually disappear. While lamenting that this invention, which has brought great convenience to people, may soon be replaced, let's take a moment to review the development history of the remote control.

　　In 1950, the first wired/wireless remote control was born.

　　In 1950, wired remote controls became a reality. An American electrical company named Zenith (later acquired by LG) developed the first television remote control. The product at that time was a wired remote control. Then in 1955, the same company invented a wireless remote device called 'Flashmatic'. However, this device could not distinguish whether the beam came from the remote control and had to be aimed to control. Due to its difficulty in control, it did not gain market recognition and became popular.

　　In 1956, the ultrasonic remote control was born.

　　The ultrasonic remote control had only four buttons: volume mute, channel increase, channel decrease, and switch.

　　In 1956, Robert Adler developed a remote control called 'Zenith Space Command', which used ultrasonic waves to adjust channels and volume. Each button had a different frequency, but this device could also be interfered with by ordinary ultrasonic sounds, such as sounds from animals that others could not hear, leading to significant limitations in its use.

　　In 1961, the true wireless remote control.

　　It wasn't until 1961 that the idea of a multifunctional remote control finally became a reality. RCA Victor, an American company, produced the world's first wireless remote control. Although this wireless remote control looked somewhat ridiculous and was as thick as a brick, it was functionally comparable to some later old remote products, such as commonly used channel switching, volume adjustment, and color brightness adjustment. It can be said to be the ancestor of today's remote controls.

　　In 1980, low costs made infrared remote controls popular.

　　In 1980, when semiconductor devices for transmitting and receiving infrared rays were developed, infrared remote controls gradually replaced ultrasonic remote controls. However, traditional infrared remote controls had many drawbacks. For example, as television screens gradually became larger, the infrared receiving windows became smaller, and some new indoor lighting devices and different installation methods of televisions could interfere with the operation of the remote control's infrared receiving window. Therefore, to solve this problem, the Japanese giant Sony finally took action.

　　In 2007, Sony released the RF radio frequency remote control.

　　In 2007, Sony was the first to adopt a new RF radio frequency remote control in its BRAVIA series, signaling the entry of future wireless communication standards into the RF radio frequency remote control field. The RF radio frequency remote control changed not only the physical layer medium but also began changes from the physical layer. The shape of the remote control, the types of buttons, and the types of controlled objects could all change.

　　Sony televisions released the world's first RF radio frequency remote control. At that time, Sony televisions included two different remote controls. The left image is the new RF remote control, and the right image is the old infrared remote control.

　　Therefore, we also saw the shape of the remote control change from the traditional stick shape to a flat rectangular shape. The reason infrared remote controls are mostly elongated is that infrared rays need to be pointed at the direction of the television. RF radio frequency remote controls use radio waves that propagate directly and generally do not need to be pointed at the television. Therefore, most television manufacturers currently adopt the mainstream RF radio frequency remote control technology.

　　Will remote controls gradually disappear in the future?

　　Now many smart TVs have added powerful features such as gesture control and voice control. There are even different methods that do not require a remote control, relying on voice, gestures, or camera body sensing to control; or using Android or iOS client virtual software installed on mobile phones or tablets for control.

　　Of course, to consider different user groups, such as the elderly or children, manufacturers say that remote controls will not disappear in the short term. However, one day in the future, we may be able to control various operations by touching holographic image control panels, just like in science fiction movies.