The “Flash-Matic” was the first wireless television remote control, develop by Zenith.
From Zenith’s remote history page:
Zenith engineer Eugene Polley invented the “Flashmatic,” which represented the industry’s first wireless TV remote. Introduced in 1955, Flashmatic operated by means of four photo cells, one in each corner of the TV screen. The viewer used a highly directional flashlight to activate the four control functions, which turned the picture and sound on and off and changed channels by turning the tuner dial clockwise and counter-clockwise.While it pioneered the concept of wireless TV remote control, the Flashmatic had some limitations. It was a simple device that had no protection circuits and, if the TV sat in an area in which the sun shone directly on it, the tuner might start rotating.
Flash-Matic Tuning [J-Walkblog] (Thanks, John!)
