Remote Shoppe is dedicated to Remote Controls

Philips is proud to announce a low power and low cost Wi-Fi® based remote control platform at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This platform leverages the ubiquitous Wi-Fi® standard rather than the many different proprietary radio frequency standards that are available.

This Wi-Fi® remote control platform was jointly developed by Philips and G2 Microsystems. G2 designs a range of ultra-low power, application-specific Wi-Fi® solutions. As the popularity for Wi-Fi based products continues to grow, Wi-F®i based remotes will become essential in seamlessly operating these devices.

Most existing Wi-Fi® based remote controls are currently expensive solutions that consume a lot of power, thus requiring a charging station. This technology makes it possible to have a Wi-Fi® remote with an LCD display working on regular batteries, without the need for a charger or docking station.

The Wi-Fi® based remote control platform is suitable for many applications including whole house music control, where a user can see the content of their music library on the remotes’ LCD display. Another popular use is home automation, such as dimming or switching lights on/off, where one remote can control all the lights in the home. In addition, it also works with Microsoft SideShow™.

“We are thrilled to bring this technology to market,” said Jean-Paul Abrams, global commercial manager home control, Philips Consumer Lifestyle. “I anticipate tremendous success in integrating this platform into our line of remote controls that we offer to our B2B customers. We expect that they will find the low cost and low energy usage very attractive, especially since it will work with a variety of appliances with minimal set-up.”

An additional advantage of utilizing Wi-Fi® is the easy integration; specific hardware isn’t necessary. As long as the appliances are connected to a TCP/IP network, a user can enable the necessary client software. It is ultimately a less expensive and simpler solution to control any kind of networked appliances in the home.

“G2 has extended the reach of our ultra low-power Wi-Fi® system-on-chip technology,” says John Gloekler, CEO of G2 Microsystems. “Although our initial focus was on real-time asset tracking, it is clear that other consumer electronics and home automation applications will benefit from our unique hosted architecture and fast boot time.”

This new platform is currently available.

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