The Remote Control: A Brief History

The remote control is a ubiquitous, as well as useful, device that many of us would struggle to cope without. Here is a brief history of the remote control.

Research indicates that the average household has four or more remote controls. It’s easy to see why. With televisions, DVD players and stereo systems being popular, people need to have enough remotes to control them all individually.

While there are plenty of universal remotes available that claim to control all your devices, there are other things around the home that use wireless control that may not be as obvious. Some homes have air conditioning, or children who play with battery operated cars and toy helicopters. You can even buy electric curtains that operate with the press of a button. All these devices require a remote control. So how did it all begin?

Believe it or not, the remote control goes back about 115 years. People often think of televisions when they hear the word remote control, but it actually predates this era. The 19th Century inventor Nikola Tesla patented one of the earlier remote controls in 1898. He demonstrated the device by steering a radio-controlled boat during an exhibition.

While it didn’t catch on immediately, the remote control was demonstrated further in the early 20th Century by engineer Leonardo Torres-Quevado. His Telekino caught the attention of the German navy and was used in World War I to attack enemy ships using remote controlled boats.

By the 1930’s, the remote control was being used for more domestic purposes and the first wireless model was developed in 1939, though it was used to control the radio. Eventually the Zenith Radio Corporation made the first television remote. It may have been connected using a wire, but it kick-started a whole new lifestyle. People were now able to change the channel and volume without having to get up from the couch and unsurprisingly, this lead to the phrase ‘couch potato’ coming into vogue. The Zenith remote was even called ‘Lazy Bones’.

As technology and home entertainment became popular, the emergence of more and more remotes in the home generated a need to control all these devices more conveniently. In the early 21st Century, the universal remote was invented and has been a popular addition to people’s living rooms ever since.

Nowadays, smartphones allow people to control devices. It’s even possible to control the mouse cursor on your laptop using a mobile phone.The remote control has evolved and is an essential part of the home. So whether you need to change the channel, skip a song on a CD, or even open your motorised curtains, think how inconvenient it would be without remote control technology.