Analysts at ABI Research say there will be a “major surge” in RF technology adoption for remote control devices in the consumer market over the next five years.
According to ABI Research practice director Peter Cooney, implementation of RF tech is becoming “more simplified” as lower power sipping is achieved.
“Over the last five years there has been an upswing in technology development and a rise in the need to make home consumer devices smart that has led to resurgence in using RF,” Cooney explained.
“Initially, proprietary RF technology was used but equipment vendors have been quick to understand the benefits of using a standardized RF technology in remote control design.”
The analyst also confirmed that the remote control market represented a “massive growth” opportunity for wireless connectivity technology vendors.
“Over 3.2 billion remote controls will be shipped from 2013 to 2018 with flat panel TVs, set-top boxes, DVD/Blu-ray devices and games consoles alone,” he added.
And that is why Atmel is helping the stalwart remote control evolve beyond the confines of infrared. As Director of Atmel Wireless Solutions Magnus Pedersen notes, the humble TV remote control has provided us with a convenient, yet unengaging, means of controlling our televisions and AV equipment for dozens of years.
“Bringing ultimate entertainment control to the holder, the infrared remote has changed little in that time despite the controlled technology making immense leaps,” he said.
“[However], as the use of RF-based controls gathers momentum, developers have a number of key design considerations to factor into their approach and how to select the components needed.”
Interested in learning more? Be sure to check out Atmel’s extensive wireless/RF portfolio here.
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