RF remote consortium formed
In a move to cater for the demand for non line of sight remote controls for consumer devices, Philips, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic have joined forces to develop a standard specification for rf based remote controls.
Along with Freescale, OKI and TI, the companies have formed the RF4CE (Radio Frequency for Consumer Electronics) Consortium to create a protocol that will enable the development of rf remote controls with improved communication, reliability and flexibility.
The remote control standard, due to be launched later this year, will be based on IEEE802.15.4. MAC/PHY radio technology in the 2.4GHz unlicensed frequency band and RF4CE aims to develop a platform that allows omnidirectional and reliable two way wireless communication.
“The initial applications of the rf remote control standard in new devices will be similar to the current infrared technology,” said RF4CE Consortium chair Bas Driesen. “However, this platform will open up possibilities for much richer remote control functionality in the future.”
