There is a local engineering company, Innotech, located new Natural Point in Oregon that designed a PC driven virtual remote called a Spitfire III. They license their technology.
The unit comes with software that displays a virtual universal remote on the screen. This allows a user with a head mouse to control any device that uses a remote control. The source code is also provided in Visual Basic which allows custom configurations of interface.
The existing unit comes in a 3x5x1 box, however the actual circuit board is much smaller. It seems to me that this unit is a natural as an accessory for the Smartnav4. The unit is powered by the USB cable. If the housing of the unit was shrunk down to the minimal necessary to accommodate the circuit board and the IR transmitter it would be perfect for a quadriplegic using a laptop in a wheelchair. The whole unit would be about the size of a compact flash card USB adapter and plugged into the rear of a wheelchair mounted laptop would give the user complete control of all the home's remote controlled devices.
The existing Spitfire III can be used but I think this could be a good opportunity for Natural Point to add a very good product for their market for little cost. The existing unit retails for $129.95.
PC Remote Control From Laptop
Re: PC Remote Control From Laptop
Thank you for the information about Innotech. NaturalPoint currently carries a small selection of SmartNav accessories, which we consistently review. The Spitfire universal remote looks to be a product that would compliment SmartNav 4 well. We will keep the Spitfire in mind as an accessory to possibly carry in the future.
The information you have sent if helpful for our current customer base seeking this type of technology.
The information you have sent if helpful for our current customer base seeking this type of technology.