Today, the remote control is such a commonplace object that it seems to have always existed. Placed on a coffee table, tucked between two cushions or replaced by a smartphone, it’s one of those invisible tools whose usefulness is no longer debatable. Yet its history is relatively recent, beginning in the mid-1950s, at a time when television was slowly establishing itself as the heart of the home. In 1955, the idea of remotely controlling a television set was by no means obvious. It was conceived in the laboratories of an American manufacturer by two engineers with complementary backgrounds, Eugene Polley and Robert Adler. Their work resulted in the first wireless remote control and opened up a field of innovations that would transform the relationship between the viewer and the screen.
Flash-Matic: the origins of remote control
In the early 1950s, Eugene Polley and Robert Adler both worked as engineers at Zenith Electronics, a major player in consumer electronics in the USA. Television was booming at the time, but its use remained restrictive. Changing channels, adjusting the volume or switching off the set required the viewer to get up and use the controls on the television. The first attempts at remote control already existed, but they relied on wired devices, which were impractical and often cumbersome. At Zenith, the management was looking for an innovative solution, capable of simplifying the viewer’s experience while affirming the brand’s technological lead.
It was against this backdrop that Eugene Polley came up with a radical new approach. Rather than using cable or radio waves, which were still unstable for domestic use, he designed a system based on light. Introduced in 1955, the Flash-Matic remote control worked like a directional flashlight. The TV was equipped with phototubes placed around the screen. By pointing the remote control at one of these cells, the user triggered a specific action, such as switching the TV on or off, changing channels or muting the sound. The principle was simple, elegant and, above all, wireless – a first in the history of television.
This innovation marked a turning point, but soon revealed its limits. The Flash-Matic was sensitive to ambient light. A ray of sunlight or overly bright indoor lighting sometimes unintentionally activated a function. Despite these shortcomings, it was a real success. Consumers were fascinated by the possibility of controlling their TV remotely, and the Flash-Matic became a symbol of modernity. Above all, it proved that a new relationship with the screen was possible, paving the way for further research to make the concept more reliable.
Space-Command: the age of ultrasound
Faced with the limitations of optical technology, Robert Adler proposed an alternative based on ultrasounds. His idea used a mechanical principle, rather than an electronic one. Inside the remote control, small metal rods were struck when a button was pressed. Each rod produced a distinct ultrasonic frequency, inaudible to the human ear, but perfectly detectable by a receiver built into the TV set. This approach eliminated light interference and enabled more reliable operation in a variety of domestic conditions.
Introduced in 1956 under the name Space-Command, this new remote control represented a decisive step forward. It required no batteries or external power sources. Pressing a button was enough to generate the signal. Each command corresponded to a precise frequency, interpreted by the TV as a clear instruction. The system was robust, ingenious, and particularly suited to the technologies of the time. For the audience, the experience became smoother. The remote control ceased to be an experimental gadget and became a genuine everyday tool.
The first clearly identified commercial model, the Space-Commander 400, embodied this transition. It became the founding reference for the ultrasonic remote control. The Space-Command rapidly became a Zenith standard and had a lasting influence on the industry. For over twenty years, ultrasonic technology was used and improved, before being gradually replaced by other solutions. But by this stage, Adler and Polley had already achieved the essential: making the remote control reliable, intuitive, and accessible to the general public.
Zenith Electronics: a laboratory of innovation
The history of the remote control is inseparable from that of Zenith Electronics. Founded in Chicago in 1918, the company started out in radio before becoming one of the pioneers of American television. Zenith was characterized by a culture of innovation, investing heavily in research and development. This strategy enabled the company to register numerous patents and launch products that were ahead of their time, including televisions, audio systems and broadcast technologies.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Zenith established itself as a key player in the North American market. The Space-Command remote control became one of its symbols, along with its top-of-the-range televisions. The company continued to innovate in the decades that followed, notably in the fields of color television, stereo sound and the first experiments in high definition. However, from the 1980s onwards, international competition intensified. Asian manufacturers gained ground, and production costs rose.
This economic pressure gradually led Zenith to join forces with the South Korean group LG Electronics. After acquiring a majority stake in the 1990s, LG bought Zenith outright in 1999. The historic company ceased to exist as an independent manufacturer, but its technological heritage lives on. Today, the Zenith name lives on in certain product ranges, while LG continues to develop advanced electronic solutions, the legacy of a century of innovation.
Introduced in 1955 with the Flash-Matic, the remote control was the result of a simple idea: to allow viewers to control their TVs without getting up. Thanks to the additional work of Eugene Polley and Robert Adler, this idea quickly turned into a reliable technology with the ultrasonic Space-Command. Over the decades, the remote control has undergone numerous evolutions, moving from mechanical systems to infrared solutions in the 1980s, notably with the RC-5 protocol, before adopting Bluetooth today. Far from being static, it continues to evolve, integrated into ever more complex connected ecosystems. Yet behind every press of a button lies the discreet legacy of two engineers and an invention born in the heart of the 1950s.
