#infrared

Infrared (IR) and Bluetooth wireless technologies are commonly used for short-range wireless communication between electronic devices. One of the first uses of Infrared was in remote controls for home electronics, which is still the standard in this day and age. Infrared communication is identified as a standard, inexpensive, and easy-to-use wireless communication technology. IR remotes work by sending and receiving commands over infrared light to transmit data from one device to another. Hence, for an infrared signal to be detected, there must be a direct line of sight between the transmitter (remote) and the receiver (receiving device). As explained in Explain That Stuff, the remote "generates a systematic series of on/off Infrared pulses that signal a binary code," which is a way of representing any information using only zeros and ones. In addition, TV remote controls that rely on infrared radiation shoot out pulses of IR energy from a light-emitting diode (LED) to an IR receiver in the TV, according to How Stuff Works. Bluetooth remotes work the same way as Infrared remotes, but instead of sending light pulses, they send the codes to the device via radio waves. Read more in our articles including "Infrared vs Bluetooth remotes: Which is better?" and "Have cellphones abandoned the infrared?".