With the advent of global warming, climate change, and other environmental concerns, companies have been putting effort into sustainable practices. Whether these be through small practices like reusable packaging and biodegradable boxes or something as monumental as a full shift to electric vehicles or renewable energy, everyone is doing their best to play their part. Samsung has also done all the small things towards this cause as well, but just because it’s sustainable doesn’t mean it has to be inconvenient. Enter the Samsung Eco Remote, a product introduced in CES 2022.
Photos courtesy of SamsungÂ
According to The Verge, this 2022 Samsung Eco Remote will be used for their lineup of Smart TVs. How this works is it harvests radio waves emitted by internet routers (which a majority of people have at home in 2022) and converts them into energy. This eliminates the need for disposable AA or AAA batteries inside the remote. It can also be charged using light, whether outdoor or indoor or USB-C as the last resort.
This is indeed a step forward. The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) states that most household batteries must be brought to proper disposal centers after use. While that sounds sustainable in theory, a lot of consumers just throw these in the bin and forget about them – leading to toxic pollution issues later on. Hopefully, Samsung is able to implement these technologies not only in the TV remotes but also for their airconditioning units, radios, and everything else that uses a remote control.
The same Verge article states that Samsung is currently looking for a way to convert kinetic energy to power these remotes, but it will settle for this innovation for now.
