How do remote control things work? How can I press the up lever on a controller and make an RC car move across the room?
In: Technology
Pressing the lever on a remote control device, activates a mechanical switch that powers part of a circuit inside the controller. That circuit then powers a wireless transmitter to broadcast a wireless signal (like a radio) which the antenna on the car picks up. And much like a radio the car has internal electronics which interpret and translate the signal to perform some function, in this case the signal sent when the controller’s left lever is pushed up tells the car to power the motor in a forward motion, so the car moves forward.
Just like a video game controller, each input on the remote control sends a different signal to the device, which is in turn interpreted into different operations within the car: “turn the wheel servo’s left” “engage the drive motor in reverse” etc.
There are a number of ways in which we can wireless transmit input signals: Bluetooth, UHF, RF, Infrared, etc. These are all different methods of wireless transmission, and require the receiving device to be capable of receiving the signals, and then in internal computing circuitry is programmed to understand and react to the received input.
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