All too often, people run into the issue of having many remotely controlled devices scattered around their house, with each requiring its own unique controller. The idea behind how they operate is simple: a single action corresponds to a number and pressing a button on the controller causes that number, along with some extra data, to be modulated via an infrared LED which reaches the device’s receiver. Finally, this value is decoded and the action is executed. 

In order to combine all of these differing code patterns into a single place, YouTuber Endpoint101 decided to use an Arduino Nano plus an infrared receiver and separate emitter to act as a translator for an Amazon Fire TV remote, creating a truly universal remote control. Whenever a new device is being added, he must first press the button on the target device’s controller, which can be anything from a direction, media playback, or a volume adjustment, where it’s then read by the Nano and stored. The last step is essentially creating a map between the already known codes from the Fire TV remote and setting them equal to the desired code. 

With this system, Endpoint101 can now activate any device he wants with just a single remote controller rather than having to search endlessly for the right one. To see more about this project, watch the video below!