As computing becomes more ubiquitous in our objects, designers need to be more aware of how to design meaningful interactions into electronically enhanced objects. At the University of Washington, a class of junior Interaction Design majors is exploring this question. These pages chronicle their efforts.

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Taking Apart a Fan Remote


Honeywell fan remote: this is a handheld, battery-powered remote for a tower fan that has three functions: turning the fan off/on, controlling the fan speed, and making the fan oscillate/stop.

These are some interesting observations we noticed about it:

  1. Minimalistic button icons allow for quick understanding of their respective functions, although we found the text labels on the inner chip "On/Off, Speed, and Osc (short for oscillation)" to be more clear in function.
  2. The 'light bulb' on the chip has a different wiring inside than regular home light bulbs, and does not shine a distinct color/light when activated. 
  3. A translucent visor was intentionally manufactured separately to allow for the remote's infrared light signal to be sent to and received by the fan. 
  4. Majority of the materials is spent on the outer plastic casing, which we believe is for protection of the chip as well as making it large but compact enough for a hand-held remote. 
Team: Hannah Mei, Netty Lim






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