Epishine, a company that makes solar cells optimized for indoor lighting, has announced its technology is being used in a new remote control for Google TV devices, as spotted by 9to5Google. The remote will rely on rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones, and thanks to the use of solar cells on both sides it may only run out of power when it gets buried and forgotten in the dark abyss of your couch cushions.
The new remote is made by Ohsung Electronics, which is an official Google reference remote supplier. Companies making Google TV streaming boxes or dongles can design their own remote controls from scratch, but they can also use Google’s reference remote designs as a shortcut to accelerate their hardware development. Walmart’s Onn devices, for example, include remotes based on Google’s designs.
The new solar powered option using Epishine’s technology will be known as the G32 reference remote, but it’s not being bundled with any Google TV devices just yet, and you can’t purchase it on its own. Existing versions of Google’s reference remotes include the G10 with 22 buttons and the G20 with 38 buttons, but companies can customize these designs to provide quick access to streaming platforms besides popular options like Netflix and YouTube.Â
It’s not the first time a remote control has included a solar cell to keep it powered indefinitely. Last year Hama announced a universal remote using Exeger’s Powerfoyle solar cell technology, and years ago Samsung released a solar remote for its own TVs. But the technology could potentially become more commonplace now that Google has made it much easier for smaller companies to implement.
