There are 3 cool ideas here, especially if you’re a gadget freak cum couch potato like me. From left to right there is:

• A remote control that doesn’t need a battery – very friendly to the environment.

• A voice-activated remote control, because I’m too lazy to pick the thing up and press the button.

• A universal remote control because I have six different remotes in the living room and they make the place look untidy.

I’m not sure about the universal remote control though; I had a really bad experience with one a few years ago…..

These excellent remote controls are available from a Korean company called Remote Solutions. When I ran their web page through Google translate, the company information gave an address, contact name and a “Trillion Sliced Raw Fish Probability” of 39, and a “Sliced Raw Fish Company Life” as Remote Solutions Co, Kr – a bizarre translation to say the least. You should read the rest of the translation; it’s hilarious!

Anyway, I traced the remote without a battery to a US patent # WO2004034730. It’s quite ingenious. The mechanical switch impacts a piezoelectric device, which generates an electrical pulse to charge a capacitor that powers the remote control.

The voice-activated remote needs no explanation; but I hope it understands English!

And the universal remote? Well, I bought one a few years ago. I had to programme it for each appliance with a 3 digit number. It took hours to find each model and figure out how to programme the thing, but it seemed to be going OK. When I was ready I tried to switch channels on the TV. It didn’t work, but my CD player came on and started cueing the Red Hot Chile Peppers’ “Californication”.

I deftly switched the remote to CD mode, and hit the “Off” button. That didn’t work either, but my video recorder started to rewind. By this time the music was starting. The first track is quite loud, and it was past midnight, so I had to dash across the room knocking over my drink in the process. I took the thing back the next morning…..

Found via KJ Global