Eugene Polley (November 29, 1915 – May 20, 2012) was an electrical engineer and engineering manager for

Zenith Electronics Zenith Electronics, LLC, is an American research and development company that develops ATSC and digital rights management technologies. It is owned by the South Korean company LG Electronics. Zenith was previously an American brand of consumer el ...

who invented the first wireless remote control for television.

Life and career

Eugene J. Polley was born November 29, 1915, in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. He attended the City Colleges of Chicago and Armour Institute of Technology, but he left before graduating. In 1935, he was hired as a stock boy for

; he moved to the company's parts department, where he created the company's first catalog, then transferred to engineering, where his assignments included work on

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

for the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

. His 1955 invention, marketed as the Flash-Matic, used visible light to remotely control a television outfitted with four photocells in the cabinet at the corners of the screen. Aiming the pistol-shaped control at an individual photocell could turn the receiver on and off, mute the sound and change the channel up or down. Polley also worked on the push-button car radio and contributed to the development of

video disk Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...

s. Polley's career at Zenith included positions as a product engineer and mechanical engineer. Polley later managed its Video Recording Group, then its Advanced Mechanical Design Group; he eventually became Assistant Division Chief for Zenith's Mechanical Engineering Group. He retired after a 47-year career in which he earned 18 U.S. patents. Polley and

Robert Adler Robert Adler (December 4, 1913 – February 15, 2007) was an Austrian-American inventor who held numerous patents. He worked for Zenith Electronics, retiring as the company's Vice President and Director of Research. His work included developing ...

shared a 1996–1997

Technology & Engineering Emmy Award The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Enginee ...

for "Pioneering Development of Wireless Remote Control for Consumer Television." In 2009, Polley received the IEEE Consumer Electronics Award "for contributions to the technology of the wireless remote control for television and other consumer electronic products."

Death

Polley died on May 20, 2012, at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. His death was announced by

, for whom he worked from 1935 to 1982. He was 96.

External links

Inventor of the TV remote control Eugene Polley. Article and Photos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polley, Eugene 1915 births 2012 deaths American businesspeople American electrical engineers American inventors United States Department of Defense officials Emmy Award winners People from Chicago Engineers from Illinois