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Pauley was a self-taught engineer from Chicago who invented the television remote control in 1955.
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Polley worked at Zenith Electronics for 47 years, rising from salesman to innovative inventor. He developed 18 different patents.
Eugene Polley invented the Zenith Flash-Matic, the first wireless TV remote control, in 1955. It controls the tube using a beam of light. (Zhenit Electronics)
His most important innovation was the first wireless TV remote control, known as the Flash-Matic. Some previous control devices were hardwired to the TV.
Polly’s Flash-Matic replaced the only remote control television technology known at the time—for 8-year-olds.
The Flash-Matic looks like a ray gun from a science fiction novel. It uses a beam to control the tube.
This inflated, often precarious form of human labor has existed since the dawn of television, reluctantly moving back and forth, changing channels according to the needs of adults and older siblings.
“When kids change channels, they usually have to adjust their bunny ears too,” jokes John Taylor, senior vice president and historian at Zenith.
Like millions of Americans over 50, Taylor spent her youth pushing buttons for free on the family TV.
The Zenith Flash-Matic was the first wireless TV remote control, released in 1955 and designed to resemble a space-age ray gun. (Gene Pauley Jr.)
Zenith announced in a press release on June 13, 1955 that the Flash-Matic offered “a stunning new type of television.”
Zenith says the new product “uses a flash of light from a small gun-shaped device to turn devices on or off, change channels, or mute long commercial sounds.”
The Zenith statement continues: “The magic ray (harmless to humans) does all the work. No hanging wires or connecting wires required.”
“For many people, it is the most frequently used item in everyday life,” the long-retired inventor told Sports Illustrated in 1999.
Today his innovations can be seen everywhere. Most people have several TV remotes at home, even more in their office or work place, and maybe one in their SUV.
But who has the greater impact on our lives every day? Eugene Polley had to fight for his legacy when the credit he received for inventing the TV remote first went to a rival engineer.
Both are of Polish origin. Gene Polley Jr., the inventor’s son, told Fox Digital News that Veronica came from a wealthy family but married a “black sheep.”
TV remote control inventor Eugene Polley with his wife Blanche (Willie) (left) and mother Veronica. (Courtesy of Gene Pauley Jr.)
“He ended up running for governor of Illinois.” He even boasted about his White House connections. “My father met the president as a child,” Jin Jr. added.
“My father wore second-hand clothes. Nobody wanted to help him get an education.” – Gene Pauley Jr.
Despite his father’s ambitions and connections, the Paulie family’s financial resources were limited.
“My father wore second-hand clothes,” said little Polly. “Nobody wanted to help him get an education.”
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Zenith was founded in Chicago in 1921 by a team of partners that included World War I U.S. Navy veteran Eugene F. MacDonald, and is now a division of LG Electronics.
Polly’s hard work, organizational skills, and natural mechanical ability attracted the attention of his commanding officer.
When the United States entered World War II in the 1940s, Polley was part of the Zenit engineering team developing weapons programs for Uncle Sam.
Polley helped develop radar, night vision goggles, and proximity fuses, which used radio waves to ignite ammunition at a predetermined distance from a target.
During World War II, Polley helped develop radar, night vision equipment, and proximity fuses—devices that used radio waves to ignite ammunition.
Post-war American consumer culture exploded, and Zenith found itself at the forefront of the rapidly growing television market.
Commander McDonald, however, is one of those irritated by the curse of broadcast television: commercial breaks. He ordered a remote control be made so that the sound could be muted between programming. Of course, the commander also saw the potential profit.
Polly designed a system with a TV containing four photocells, one in each corner of the console. Users can change the picture and sound by pointing the Flash-Matic at the corresponding photocells built into the TV.
Eugene Polley invented the remote control television in 1955 for Zenith. That same year, he applied for a patent on behalf of the company and was granted it in 1959. It includes a photocell system to receive signals inside the console. (US Patent and Trademark Office)
“A week later, the commander said he wanted to put it into production. It sold like hot cakes – they couldn’t keep up with demand.”
“Commander MacDonald really liked the concept Polly demonstrated of the Flash-Matic,” Zenith said in a company history. But he soon “trained engineers to explore other technologies for the next generation.”
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Polly’s remote control has its limitations. In particular, using a beam means that ambient light (such as sunlight coming through the house) can damage the TV.
A year after the Flash-Matic hit the market, Zenith released a new product, Space Command, developed by engineer and prolific inventor Dr. Robert Adler. This is a radical departure from the technology of using ultrasound instead of light to control the tubes.
In 1956, Zenith introduced the next generation of TV remote controls called Space Command. It was developed by Dr. Robert Adler. It was the first “clicker” remote control, replacing the remote control technology created by Zenith engineer Eugene Polley. (Zhenit Electronics)
Space Command is “built around lightweight aluminum rods that, when struck at one end, produce a unique high-frequency sound… They are very carefully cut to length, resulting in four slightly different frequencies.”
It was the first remote control “clicker” – a small hammer that made a clicking sound when struck on the end of an aluminum rod.
Dr. Robert Adler soon replaced Eugene Polley in the eyes of the industry as the inventor of the television remote control.
The National Inventors Hall of Fame actually credits Adler as the inventor of the first “practical” television remote control. Polly doesn’t belong to the inventors’ club.
“Adler had a reputation for being ahead of the collaboration of other Zenith engineers,” states Polley Jr., adding: “This irritated my father greatly.”
Polly is a self-taught mechanical engineer with no college degree who worked her way up from a warehouse background.
“I wouldn’t like to call him a blue collar guy,” said Zenit historian Taylor. “But he was a badass mechanical engineer, a badass Chicagoan.”
Post time: Sep-03-2024