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Tesla's remote
In 1892 Nikola Tesla had a basic design for a radio. On November 8, 1898 he patented a radio controlled robot boat. He exhibited his boat, controlled by radio waves, in Madison Square Gardins in 1898 -
Lazy Bones
The "Lazy Bones" remote was the first remote intended to control a television . It was developed by the Zenith Radio Corporation in 1950. The "Lazy Bones" was connected to the TV by a wire. -
Flashmatic
The wireless remote control, called the "Flashmatic", was developed n 1955 by Eugene Polley. -
1956-1977
Early television remote controls, 1956-1977, used ultrasonic tones. Today's remote controls are commonly consumer infrared devices, that send digitally-coded pulses of infrared radiation to control functions such as power, volume, etc. -
Space Command
1956 saw Robert Adler develop the "Zenith Space Command", a wireless remote. This used ultrasound to change the channel and volume. -
Complexity
in 1973 a impetus for a more complex TV remote was satisfied with the development of the Ceefax teletext by the BBC(British Broadcasting Service). Most controllers at the time had limited functions, sometimes only three (next channel, previous channel, volume/off). BBC engineers began talks with a few television manufactures, which led to early prototypes around 1977-1978 that could could control more functions. -
Veiwstar, Inc.
The Canadian company, Veiwstar, Inc., was created by Paul Hrivnak and began producing a cable TV converter with an infrared remote control. It sold for $190. -
Loop Pointer
Hillcrest labs introduced the Loop Pointer. This remote control allowed users to control their televisions with natural gestures. The remote had four buttons and a scroll wheel. -
Apple TV
In 2006 Apple introduced Apple TV with it's own remote. With the ability to buy your favorite TV shows and movies on the TV the remote allowed you to fast forward and rewind and to pause. Despite being a basic remote it was a technological advance. -
Apple upgrades
Around 2014 Apple upgraded their Apple TV remote to a sleek silver design. It had the same basic functions as the previous remote, however it had a technology boost to keep up with the Apple TV update. -
Fourth generation Apple
2015/16 the fourth generation Apple TV came with an upgraded remote. It had more options on the remote like a touch surface, menu button, home button, an option for siri, volume control, as well as the play/pause button.
