MSc Product Design Analysis - Assignment Example

1441). In its broadest sense, remote control systems also include those systems that rely on the use of extended physical control links (i.e., using a physical link such as cables or wires and other similar conductors). More typically, however, the phrase is used to refer to wireless connections. There are four important kinds of remote control systems in common use: radio control, infrared remote control, remote-handling equipment, and telemetry (Cavendish, 2006). Radio control technology Radio control is the most common type of remote control, and at times the two terms are used interchangeably.

As the term implies, this is a way of directing the operation of one or several devices from some distance away, through the use of radio waves. There are single-channel and multichannel control equipment. Single channel equipment are designed to control only one function, while multichannel equipment can control several functions (Cavendish, 2006). The single-channel radio control is comprised of a transmitter, a relay, and an actuator or escapement. The transmitter is the device that sends a constant-frequency radio signal when its keying switch is moved.

The signal is detected by the receiver and then amplified, triggering the relay which activates the actuator. It is the actuator that executes the single function command which the operator desires to be done. Because the single channel control can only operate one function, it is rather limited and operates basically by switching the function on and off (Cavendish, 2006). The multichannel radio control system, on the other hand, is designed to handle more than one function. Early models used tone transmitters that produced up to 12 ultrasonic tones; today, however, multichannel RC systems use digital pulsing systems which are more reliable and precise and therefore provide for finer control than tone transmitters.

When the transmitter is switched on, it produces a series of pulses continuously. The message is encoded in the spaces between pulses; the signal containing the pulses is received and amplified by the receiver, after which it is passed on to a decoder (Cavendish, 2006). Infrared remote control On the other hand, infrared remote control is probably the most familiar because it is widely used in a home setting, for operating electrical entertainment systems and similar devices. Infrared RC uses pulses of invisible infrared light as the medium of control; unlike radio control, it is important that infrared transmitters have a line-of-sight path to the sensor on the device being controlled.

One characteristic of infrared is that it may bounce off walls, but not penetrate them (Cavendish, 2006). Upon depressing a button on an infrared remote-control handset, a microchip in it activates a signal to which the button relates. The signal is amplified by transistors and sent to a light-emitting diode (LED) that translates the signal to infrared light. The LED is located at the handset’s front, so the light that is generated is sent to the device where a sensor detects it and prompts the desired action (Cavendish, 2006).

Other forms of remote control devices There are devices that are