Samsung's new remote for its high-end televisions is, a priori, one more remote controller. It has buttons to access the main streaming platforms, control parameters such as volume or even control the television by voice. However, inside it hides a curious detail that, in addition to being super interesting from a technical point of view, can also be super practical on a day-to-day basis.
The Eco Remote , which is how Samsung has baptized it, captures the waves emitted by the home router to recharge itself. A system that, in In theory, it would avoid having to reload the controller as long as it is in an environment where the system can be used effectively – that is, with signals coming from a router -.
This is not the first time that Samsung has launched a remote control for its televisions that recharges autonomously . The company did something similar in 2021, when it implemented a small solar panel that allowed it to recharge its battery only with light – even in low-light environments -.
The new model is also capable of recharging using solar energy , in addition to capturing the signals from the router and converting them into energy. It is a not very efficient system to be implemented in devices such as mobile phones or laptops, but, in the case of a remote control, whose energy consumption is negligible, it can be an interesting option.
The Samsung remote, in addition to using solar energy or the conversion of electromagnetic waves into energy, can also be recharged using USB-C. And, unlike the remote controls that often live in homes, this one doesn't have batteries, but rather a rechargeable battery.
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Samsung has not only experimented with the waves and solar energy
The South Korean company has experimented with other ways to recharge its TV controls. One of them consisted of taking advantage of the vibration of the control to generate electricity . The other is to use vibratory energy when the microphone captures sounds.
The implementation of these technologies in Samsung products, if working properly, has several associated benefits. Perhaps the most obvious is long-term convenience, as the remote controller will never run out of power. The most important, however, is probably the environmental benefit derived from not using interchangeable batteries in these types of products.
