A: what we didn't have was what proportion of people using remotes were in those particular age groups .
A: Now
D: Uh yeah .
A: do we know whether they A: Forty no sorry for forty five to fifty five age group , uh to put myself right in the middle of it , um u use remote controls to a great extent .
D: B: A: Yes we D: Um no
D: this is for pay more for speech recognition .
A: That would 've speech recogn right .
A: So ,
A: we're looking at A: um well
A: again , we don't know the relative proportion the relative numbers in the age groups .
D: Yeah , that's true .
A: If we wanted something different , truly different , then the buttonless remote control w would be it .
B: P
B: Well
B: the only problem I can think of with that is if you've got a lot of people that don't wanna be bothered learning how to use new rem remote controls .
B: If you just kind of take away everything that they're used to knowing , that's gonna be quite a change .
A: But if you just lift it up and say , channel one or B_B_C_ B: It might D: Or even I mean you could even just have it left on .
D: You could just put it down once on top your T_V_
C: Maybe i
D: and never have to C: Yeah ,
C: have a big kind of like the satellite box or the cable box
A: C: and have it just go on the T_V_
C: and then it doesn't matter where in the room you are ,
C: you won't lose it .
D: Yeah .
B: Mm .
A: It c
A: well
A: it A: I can I can see technical problems with that in terms of the , you know , the sound from the television ,
B: Mm .
C: No .
A: because if somebody actually on the television says uh uh , you know , I_T_V_ and you're watching B_B_C_ then then it might um change itself ,
D: B_B_C_ one . B: Yeah . C: Oh . B: Yeah .
D: A: so it probably needs to be um possibly actually need a button on it
C: Yeah , that's true .
A: just to activate it .
D: Oh yeah .
A: Or or something just to identify that you've lifted it up and it's use .
A: And and then just say , oh I don't know , a thought and and then C: Yeah .
A: uh I mean that that would certainly be uh truly different .
A: Um 'cause uh you know audio settings , nought point eight percent .
A: I mean if they weren't there ,
D: Mm-mm .
A: would people miss them ?
B: But look at the importance of them . The volume settings .
A: D: Relevance of two out of ten ,
D: yeah .
A: Vol volume ,
B: Yeah .
A: yes um
B: They're not used often
A: th B: but they are quite important when they're used .
A: w we need to s identify things that people actually need
B: Yeah .
A: and and it's a function of frequency and relevance .
A: And um I would say ignoring ig ignoring power for the moment ,
A: um the channel and volume
B: Mm .
A: and th w w given given that we've been told to ignore teletext .
D: Yeah .
A: Uh channel and volume are the only ones that
A: uh would appear to be essential .
D: Stand out .
A: Um . So
A: if we can design something that that looks interesting ,
A: know ,
A: or looks different ,
A: um incorporates the the logo and and the colours
A: and um we can still have our interchangeable fascias even if it's the yellow and grey , um
A: and uh I dunno ,
A: buttons or or buttons as an option .
D: Uh I just had a thought actually ,
D: sorry to interrupt .
A: Do , please .
D: Uh you were saying about um it could technical problems of like uh someone on the television saying a channel number and it changed A: Mm-hmm .
D: we could maybe have like an activation
D: word .
D: 'Cause I've seen I've seen this used on computers before ,
A: You cer certainly could .
D: where you just you address the remote ,
B: Mm .
A: Depe uh i depends whether um D: you address the computer ,
D: and then give it a command .
A: if we want to make this so simple that anybody can walk into the room and lift it up and say
D: Oh I see . Oh yeah , I see .
A: B_B_C_ one .
A: Um okay ,
A: I mean you could print actually print it on the uh
D: Mm-hmm , yeah .
A: device itself . Um .
D: I mean I'm just thinking of the point of view of peop you could still like lose this remote .
A: S
A: th this I th that's always gonna be a problem I think .
B: D: Mm .
A: Um and I I I s
A: so
A: I suppose one um A: could make it so desirable that if people lose it they immediately go out and buy another one .
B: D: C: A: Anyway ,
A: sorry ,
A: carry on .
A: Do you want to just carry on with D: Oh
D: no
D: I I interrupted you ,
A: or A: no no , no
D: sorry .
A: uh b I was in the middle of in the middle of your report there . D: Oh
D: okay .
D: Um well ,
D: I was just kinda wrapping up there .
D: Yeah ,
D: I was thinking um , yeah , maybe such things are relevant .
A: Mm okay . D: We could make things much more f I think the the
D: eighty percent of people would spend more on uh a remote uh that looks better ,
D: combined with uh decrease the or
D: take out the limited functio functions
D: that we don't really use much .
D: alright take out teletext ,
D: but as for channel settings and stuff it might it might um turn people somewhe peop some people that want the whole functionality away .
D: But , since if we're marketing a more kind of fashionable approach then it'd it would be fashion and fashion over practicality .
A: Mm-hmm .
A: S s we could we could make it dual function voice recognition and still have buttons on it um
D: Oh , we could , yeah .
D: We c
D: yeah ,
D: we could even have it as like a yeah the buttons control this
A: 'cause we're D: and the voice functions control the f things that you would do all the time ,
D: so .
A: Certainly could . Yeah , yeah .
D: So uh yeah ,
B: Mm .
D: if we could uh power on and channel selection and and volume selection , wouldn't have to really A: The I mean the the advantage of doing away the buttons altogether is it makes the thing cheaper .
D: Yeah
D: and probably it would look better as well .
A: No ,
A: it cou certainly opens up the possibility for making it uh , you know , visually very distinctive .
D: Yeah . yeah .
A: Um 'cause you know , it does not have to be a oblong box .
B: Mm .
D: Lined with numbered buttons and A: Mm , yeah .
A: Okay ,
A: who A: sorry ,
A: have you have you finished there Andy ?
D: Uh yeah , yeah , that's everything .
A: Yep , yep .
A: Um given that we've already had a extensive discussion uh  .
B: C: D: C: Okay well ,
C: I can do mine .
B: Hmm .
D: Do you want the cable ?
C: Yeah ,
C: let's see if I can make this work . Um .
B: Oh ,
B: you have to hit like function and F_ something .
C: Oh .
D: F_ eight .
B: F_ eight .
C: Is it doing B: Dunno .
D: Uh , give it about twenty seconds , or so .
C: Okay .
A: Ah ,
B: Oh yeah ,
C: Oh okay .
A: there we go . B: it's going .
C: Okay , so
C: this is just about the technical functions .
A: Alright .
C: So
C: the method , I looked online for examples of other similar products
C: and then just kind of was trying to brainstorm some possible design ideas
C: and um identify what the necessary things are , what people are what you really wanna have a remote control do .
C: Um and then there are two different kinds that I found .
C: There's a user centred one and an engineering centred one
C: which I will have pictures of
C: and then we kinda have to decide which one this should be .
A: Mm-hmm .
C: So
C: these are the two different ones .
C: This one um this is the user centred ,
D: C: it has uh quite a few mm uh um fewer buttons
C: and then this is the engineering centred ,
C: which has a lot more buttons ,
A: Mm-hmm .
C: and probably this is one that people complain about , about having too many buttons
C: that you don't use .
C: So basically ,
C: what a remote control is is you it's to send messages to the television set ,
C: you know ,
C: turn on , off , switch the channels and the volume and things such as that .
C: And so for this product it's gonna be television only ,
C: and then it has to have the uh logos
C: for the company and the colours .
C: And so ,
C: for my personal preferences , I think this one is easier to use
C: and has quite a you know , fewer buttons .
C: Um we want something that sends messages easily to the television
C: and I was kind of wondering about this example that they have .
C: It looks kind of narrow at the top ,
C: and I was thinking maybe if it were wider at the top ,
A: Mm , yeah .
C: then that would be easier .
C: Um and so
C: we have to decide what's gonna make our product different .
C: E
C: the unique style , maybe have it light up
C: so it's visible in the dark ,
C: um the changeable face-plates ,
C: and the lighting up and visible I was C: when we were talking about havi losing it ,
C: maybe to have a button on the television that you press and it maybe if it makes a noise or lights up or something like that ,
C: so it's easier to find if someone has hidden under the couch or something like that .
C: So
C: that's my presentation . Yeah .
A: Okay ,
A: can I um I'm actually gonna use the um A: it's gonna cause great technical problems over here .
A: I'm actually gonna use the C: F
C: they probably clip to you .
B: Oh yeah ,
B: they might be movable .
D: Yeah .
B: Oh yeah ,
B: they're all B: they're not connected to anything on the table ,
B: you just leave 'em on
B: and walk around with 'em .
B: A: Yes ,
A: rather than the uh the the traditional A: in fact , um I won't even go that far .
A: Um something like this shape ,
A: you know ,
A: sort of something that you can that's sort of a more vertical shape ,
A: um that you you sort of hold in your hand ,
A: um , well
A: I'm trying to think
A: uh uh uh l uh l such as I mean um something you hold up like that ,
A: possibly with a couple of buttons like that ,
A: but with the the entire top with the , you know , the uh the infrared or whatever source .
B: Mm .
A: Uh so that you know , it's flying off in all directions ,
B: Mm .
A: so that uh um uh A: again the n need to look at the the the technicalities of um
B: A: actually achieving that in terms of whether the , you know , the power requirements of the uh such a source , um you know , compromise the our our need for uh you know , it it being um mm permanently uh you know , available .
A: Uh whether whether different technology um
A: I mean th all all these remotes are presumably infrared ,
A: and like they have been for a long time .
A: Uh we we possibly need to be looking at at at something different , um you know , short range , not like the old uh radio remote controls
A: where you'd change next door's telly when you change yours . Um
C: B: A: but uh uh I think basically i if we're going for i
A: if minimum number of buttons is our priority , then we should , as I say , r know , really bite the bullets and and reduce the buttons to absolute minimum ,
A: you know ,
A: possibly with backup channel and volume buttons and on off . Um and nothing else .
A: Um so that it can al it could uh almost end up like that ,
A: but again , except that um you know the risk of losing it .
A: Um anyway okay um so
A: Kate , wh what are your uh your thoughts on this ?
B: Yes , mm . C: Oh .
B: Which one does this plug into ?
C: Hmm I think it's all there .
B: That one .
C: H
B: I can't did you  B: could you see it on you screen
B: when it C: Oh yeah .
B: That's not cool . C: That's kind of strange .
B: Oh well .
B: Anyways . Um alright , yeah , so um
B: I'll just do my presentation on the working design uh .
B: Oh there we go .
B: Okay um
B: just at the m yeah the whole sort of method of how the remote control works .
B: Uh the basic function of the remote control is to send messages to another sh system , the the T_V_ or the D_V_D_ player or whatever .
D:  B: Um and it does this uh by well , you need to start off you need an energy source B: and this energy source will feed into an integrated circuit chip
B: and the circuit chip is the part that actually composes the different messages uh within the remote
B: um which will then be sent to the uh the television , the D_V_D_ to tell that what to do .
B: Um and you need a user interface ,
B: which controls the chip and thus the messages
B: and uh the user interface is that's basically just you kn the s sorta design of the actual remote which you hold in your hands and what buttons will be on it . Um B: Oh shoot .
B: Okay .
B: Uh just general findings .
B: Uh what we need uh technically speaking for the remote control is some sort of energy source , uh some sort of user interface ,
B: which I think we've mostly been talking about the user interface and the design of that .
B: Um a circuit chip within that to uh control and send the messages and um a sender and receiver .
B: And um B: oops .
B: Uh-huh .
B: This is just sort of a little schematic diagram of what we're looking for .
B: Uh this just kinda represents the energy source
D: Hmm .
B: which feeds into the circuit chip
B: uh which maybe then we could have that feed into a switch
B: which would send signals f to um a subcomponent and on to a light bulb between B: so it'll light up once we start once you start pressing buttons .
B: Um also send signals to the um infrared bulb ,
B: which will be the part that actually  what ? Sends signals to the the television .
B: And then you've got your happy little T_V_ watcher there .
C: B: And so
B: my personal preferences B: I I just think we need sorta big uh energy source that won't die out ,
B: uh perhaps some sort of rechargeable battery
B: or a battery dock you could place it in ,
B: so it'd constantly be charged ,
B: so you wouldn't have to uh be worrying about it running out of batteries and not changing channels for you .
B: Uh a wide range uh sender-receiver ,
B: so that you can hit the buttons from basically anywhere in the room , and the channel'll still be changed .
B: Uh also definitely a user-friendly interface B: um and I think we've all sort of mentioned adding a a locating device on it ,
B: so when it does get stuck under the couch cushions , as they inevitably do , you can find them easily .
B: And that's pretty much it .
A: Okay .
A: Uh it seems seems to me there are a number of fundamental decisions to make
B: Mm . A: before we um A: I think your point about the the big energy source is uh a very valid one .
B: Mm .
A: Um I don't suppose we've got any statistics on the the life expectancy of uh remote controls , particularly sort of independent ones .
A: Um given
A: you know , the number of things you buy these days , which you know , have a a a lithium whatever battery in ,
A: that's uh , you know never needs replacing .
B: A: Um perhaps we should have the the disposable remote control ,
A: uh um you know ,
A: one some sort of typical usage .
A: You know ,
A: the the the battery will last
A: know , five , ten years .
A: By which time I mean when all's said and done , the digital television will be taking over in that time scale . Um
B: Mm .
D: Mm-hmm .
A: uh uh p perhaps we should , know , reduce the uh , you know , the sort of moving parts even more by not even having a battery compartment
A: and uh B: Just having one that's guaranteed to last five to ten years ?
A: Yeah ,
A: and if if anybody manages to run it down , we'll we'll give 'em a new one .
B: Oh , cool .
B: Yeah , fair enough .
C: A: Um it's , you know , it's what it saves in cost and you know there there's a A: well ,
A: it's actually a marketing gimmick .
A: I mean it's hardly a gimmick ,
A: it's uh it's totally practical .
A: Uh so I th think you know the idea of a rechargeable one is um
A: uh unless you're really high tech and it sort of just recharges itself if it's n by , you know , magnetic waves or whatever ,
A: if if it D: It could have like uh know like a cordless phone in your house it s got like a base that sits there all the time .
A: Yeah . B: Mm , mm .
A: Are are people really gonna use it though ? Um .
D: I suppose , yeah .
C: Yeah ,
C: people are pro
B: Mm yeah C: I would think that people might forget C: I mean people forget to put their cordless phones back on there ,
D: A: I I th I think B: Mm-mm .
C: so .
A: Yeah ,
D: Yeah . A: it's
A: um I mean I know that somei times my my wife goes out in the morning
A: and says oh I should have put the phone on to charge
B: Mm .
A: and then then she's had those for so long that if she hasn't worked that out by now . Um .
B: 'Cause I only remember to charge my cell phone uh when battery dies . C: Yeah .
D: B: And that's pretty much A: When it A: yeah ,
A: wh when it's died is a problem .
B: yeah . Yeah ,
B: when it turns itself off , that's when I plug it in ,
A: Yeah , yeah ,
C: A: yeah , so uh um
B: yeah . A: what so wh what what do we think about the um the the permanent mm battery ?
B: Yeah , think that's a good idea .
D: Uh . That sounds pretty good , yeah .
C: No .
A: Is the
A: uh you know ,
A: we we we are really going for the ultimate in ex uh external simplicity here .
C: Um .
B: Mm .
A: Um you know ,
A: cut cost within the
A: manufacturing
A: and uh you know , if we have a high tech interior , then then that that sh may well be cost effective .
C: Do they make batteries that last that long ?
A: I mean
A: th th
A: certainly .
A: Um I can't think of anything off the s top of my head ,
B: They usually have the little light uh source ,
A: but there are certainly things that you buy . I mean calculators for example .
B: I dunno what the heck they're called ,
C: Yeah , they have that little solar B: the but
B: yeah , the little cells
A: Som well some do ,
B: that A: I mean
A: th th
A: but there are battery ones
B: Yeah .
A: that um are you know , sort of permanently sealed .
D: Mm-hmm .
B: Mm .
C: Yeah .
A: In in fact I'd B: Most of them , don't they have sort of a combination of the two ,
B: like
B: when there is light , they'll work off the light ,
B: and if there isn't , they'll kick into this battery ,
A: Yeah ,
A: uh uh B: so we can maybe do something like that
B: whereas there is a battery ,
B: but if there's enough light , then it's using the light ,