Universal Electronics Inc. (UEI) is an American

smart home Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * ''SMart'', a children's television ser ...

technology provider and manufacturer of universal

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

s, IoT devices such as voice-enabled smart home hubs, smart thermostats, home sensors; as well as a white label digital assistant platform optimized for smart home applications, and other software and

cloud services Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over mul ...

for device discovery,

fingerprinting A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

and

interoperability Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader def ...

. The company designs, develops, manufactures and ships products both under the "One For All" brand and as an

OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

for other companies in the audio video, subscription broadcasting, connected home, tablet and smart phone markets. In 2015, it expanded its product and technology platform to include home automation, intelligent sensing and security. UEI's global headquarters is located in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

with R&D offices in Santa Ana, California, regional offices in Enschede (The Nederlands), Manaus (Brazil),

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

(India), San Mateo and

Carlsbad Carlsbad may refer to: *Carlsbad, California, United States *Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States *Carlsbad, Texas, United States *Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa ...

(California), and

Twinsburg Twinsburg is a suburban city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, located about halfway between Akron and Cleveland. The population was 19,248 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area. History In 1817 Ethan Alling, then ...

(Ohio). In 2014 UEI was ranked 80 on Forbes' list of "America's Best Small Companies." Many of UEI's products use different low power wireless technologies such as

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limit ...

and

Zigbee Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a suite of high-level communication protocols used to create personal area networks with small, low-power digital radios, such as for home automation, medical device data collection, and ...

(or other

802.15.4 IEEE 802.15.4 is a technical standard which defines the operation of a low-rate wireless personal area network (LR-WPAN). It specifies the physical layer and media access control for LR-WPANs, and is maintained by the IEEE 802.15 working group, ...

communications). UEI is a member of different wireless industry alliances such as

ZigBee Alliance The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), formerly the Zigbee Alliance, is a group of companies that maintain and publish the Zigbee standard and the soon to be Matter standard. The name Zigbee is a registered trademark of this group, and is not ...

Bluetooth SIG The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) is the standards organization that oversees the development of Bluetooth standards and the licensing of the Bluetooth technologies and trademarks to manufacturers. The SIG is a not-for-prof ...

as well as

Wi-Fi Alliance The Wi-Fi Alliance is a non-profit organization that owns the Wi-Fi trademark. Manufacturers may use the trademark to brand products certified for Wi-Fi interoperability. History Early 802.11 products suffered from interoperability problems be ...

. UEI also offer

SoCs SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signaling proteins) refers to a family of genes involved in inhibiting the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Genes * CISH * SOCS1 * SOCS2 * SOCS3 Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3 or SOCS-3) is a protein that in h ...

such as UE878 and SDK to enable multi-protocol communication for different smart home devices such as leading Smart TVs.

Products

UEI is one of the world's largest manufacturers of remote controls, responsible for an estimated 30% global market share in home entertainment remotes. Under its Ecolink brand, it also makes home security and automation products such as motion and door/window entry sensors for DIY and professional home security markets and OEMs. UEI makes numerous products that use

ZigBee Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a suite of high-level communication protocols used to create personal area networks with small, low-power digital radios, such as for home automation, medical device data collection, and ...

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio w ...

technology. They are a member of the

and

QuickSet Cloud

QuickSet Cloud is Universal Electronics’ software product family including web services and embedded SDK for simplifying discovery and universal control setup and operation in a

Acquisitions

In February 2009, UEI purchased all of

Zilog Zilog, Inc. is an American manufacturer of microprocessors and 8-bit and 16-bit microcontrollers. It is also a supplier of application-specific embedded system-on-chip (SoC) products. Its most famous product is the Z80 series of 8-bit microp ...

's software & IP assets related to

's universal remote control business, including all ROM code, software, and database of infrared codes. Zilog sold these assets for $31 million cash. In August 2015, UEI acquired Ecolink Intelligent Technology, a wireless home security and automation specialist. In May 2017, UEI further expanded by acquiring RCS Technology, a pioneer in

smart thermostat Smart thermostats are Wi-Fi thermostats that can be used with home automation and are responsible for controlling a home's heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. They perform similar functions as a Programmable thermostat as they allow the us ...

s and energy management.

Honors

In 2017,

National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, ed ...

awarded UEI a

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 its contribution to "Contextual Voice Navigation for Discovering and Interacting with TV Content."

Use of Uyghur forced labor

In October 2021, Universal Electronics affirmed to Reuters that it had "struck a deal with authorities in Xinjiang to transport hundreds of Uyghur workers to its plant in the southern Chinese city of Qinzhou," the first instance of a U.S. firm confirming participation in CCCP labor transfer programs described by watchgroups as

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of e ...

. City officials from Qinzhou and the city of Hotan in Xinjiang reported to Reuters that Uyghur workers were delivered under police guard by plane from Hotan directly to the Universal Electronics Qinzhou plant. The Reuters report further describes the Uyghur laborers as working under police guard at the factory; being housed in segregated quarters, also under police surveillance; and being restricted in their freedom of movement. A Universal Electronics spokeswoman asserted that the company did not regard the workers as forced labor but affirmed that it did not conduct independent due diligence on its labor's sourcing.

References

{{reflist Electronics companies of the United States Consumer electronics