.
- Largest manufacturer of remote controls throughout Europe
- Technology leader with over 30 years of experience in the development of intelligent and intuitive operating concepts
- Tailored solutions for individual customer requirements from a single source
- Users at the focus of extensive research and development activities
It is called “remote control” and yet no other device of the entertainment electronics sector is as close to the consumer as this. Accordingly, more and more device manufacturers along with platform operators in the pay-TV industry are focusing on high quality, intelligent and individually designed remote controls that are intended to give customers an unmistakable and tangible design and quality experience in addition to the intuitive use of functions.
As the largest manufacturer in Europe, ruwido, Neumarkt am Wallersee near Salzburg (Austria), researches, develops and produces remote controls for the free trade as well as for leading brands in the CE and communication industry. At the same time one of the world’s leading enterprises in the area of infrared-based control devices, ruwido is a competence centre for the development and production of innovative operating concepts in general. Furthermore, in addition to developing own control electronics and software, ruwido also researches into operating concepts along with the design, material and colour trends of the future for the CE industry. In the dynamic market for high-end entertainment electronics ruwido has worked internationally for decades for companies in all areas of home entertainment including leading platform operators and device manufacturers.
Established in 1969, ruwido benefits in particular from the know-how it has collected in over 30 years in the development and production of remote controls and infrared-based application systems. The company has set milestones in the industry such as the introduction of the world’s first infrared remote control in 1975. ruwido is also a reliable partner of many years’ standing for TV broadcasters, platform operators, device manufacturers and also hotel and shipping companies throughout Europe. Its customers include companies such as Metz, Loewe, Sony, Canal+, Premiere, NTL, ONO, telenet, UPC, Deutsche Telekom, Telecom Italia, Swisscom, KPN and Telekom Austria, Lufthansa Systemtechnik and Tomorrow Focus Technologies are also ruwido customers who supply cruise ships such as the “Queen Mary 2” and “Aida” as well as exclusive hotels with the developments from Neumarkt. Research, development and production are provided completely from one source at the Austrian headquarter in Neumarkt in the Salzburger Land.
The operating solutions provided by ruwido are just as innovative as the products of its numerous customers. Focus is placed on customised solutions for very individual requirements in which technology is harmonised with design as a result of far-reaching research work usually over many years. Some 20 per cent of the 170 employees of the technology expert are employed in the research and development area. There is also close collaboration with scientific establishments. Thus, for example, together with the Information and Communication Technologies Society (ICT&S) of the University of Salzburg, ruwido is investigating the ergonomic and technical requirements to provide simple and intuitive handling for the user. Because simple is not just simple: ruwido makes use of complex and intelligent technology on the inside which is decidedly uncomplicated and intuitive for the user. VEXO, the new universal remote control from ruwido, manages completely without buttons for the first time: a single “coin-key” operated by thumb controls up to 16 devices. And the VEXO does not even need a traditional operating manual, which in view of the sheer sea of functional breadth of modern CE devices is almost a provocation.
“Kaizen” from the Salzburger Land
Thanks to the orientation of the company to the quality management systems ISO 9001 - 2000 as well as TS 16949 ruwido products are characterised by the highest finishing quality and reliability. Production is set up according to the Japanese “Kaizen Principle”, thereby guaranteeing an efficient and continuously improving production flow.
“For many providers cost aspects were and continue to be the prime focus in the development of remote controls. However the customer sitting in the living room is necessarily forgotten in application of the ‘just make it cheap’ principle because a well-functioning and easy-to-use remote control is in actual fact the best proof of high quality entertainment electronics”, explains Ferdinand Maier, Managing Director of ruwido. “Conversely, is there anyone who has not been annoyed by the fact that the key assignment of his new DVD player is very complicated and the remote control difficult to handle?”
Completely independent production does not just serve the purposes of own independence but is also even indispensable for many product areas. The development of a keyboard for television (such as the ‘ruwido Living Room Keyboard’) does not mean merely taking over known elements of the PC counterpart and delivering the goods. Rather, a keyboard of this nature must be fundamentally revised to suit use in the living room. A remote control will slip out of the hand more frequently than a PC keyboard so that the television keyboard will require quite different, more resistant materials.
From the first design through development of software and hardware to production, ruwido pays attention to the smallest detail in an effort to harmonise technology and design. ruwido does not only benefit from its experience as a manufacturer of precision components for the car industry. “We know from the automobile industry that even the noise of a closing car door is analysed in detail and optimised in terms of the deep psychological overall experience provided by the car”, explains Ferdinand Maier. “In the development of remote controls we justifiably take a similar path because the demands placed on the remote control will increase parallel to the progressive perfectionism in the design and technology of entertainment electronics.“
The broad product range of ruwido is based on a common technology platform which in its turn is founded on four technology concepts. This makes it possible to develop very individual remote controls.
In the r-map ruwido has developed an independent patented infrared protocol permitting several devices to be controlled simultaneously by remote control.
r-base comprises a database, compiled over decades, that contains infrared codes of very different manufacturers of entertainment equipment on the market which in some models can be called up by the remote control by USB interface. r-mode contains the collective know-how of the company in the interaction of technology and design, i.e. the shaping and design of user interfaces under consideration of ergonomics, touch, colour perception etc. Finally, all services and solutions for OEM customers are united in r-way. Companies are given access to very different application examples for the implementation of remote controls in their own device environment.
“We will experience a situation in which the traditional cheap remote control will gradually become extinct in the face of the large number of applications and possibilities presented by the digital entertainment world”, of this Ferdinand Maier is certain. “At ruwido we therefore endeavour to track down the latest design and technology trends and in some areas we are even one step ahead. The new generation of remote controls therefore has the potential to advance into the living room as a central CE interface and design element, thereby becoming the best representative of the entertainment electronic brands.”
###
We would be happy to arrange appointments for background discussions, product demonstrations and interviews with ruwido at the IBC. Stefan Susbauer and Ansgar Gerber can be reached on mobile phones during the trade fair (see contact). ruwido is located at IBC stand 1.560.
- Largest manufacturer of remote controls throughout Europe
- Technology leader with over 30 years of experience in the development of intelligent and intuitive operating concepts
- Tailored solutions for individual customer requirements from a single source
- Users at the focus of extensive research and development activities
It is called “remote control” and yet no other device of the entertainment electronics sector is as close to the consumer as this. Accordingly, more and more device manufacturers along with platform operators in the pay-TV industry are focusing on high quality, intelligent and individually designed remote controls that are intended to give customers an unmistakable and tangible design and quality experience in addition to the intuitive use of functions.
As the largest manufacturer in Europe, ruwido, Neumarkt am Wallersee near Salzburg (Austria), researches, develops and produces remote controls for the free trade as well as for leading brands in the CE and communication industry. At the same time one of the world’s leading enterprises in the area of infrared-based control devices, ruwido is a competence centre for the development and production of innovative operating concepts in general. Furthermore, in addition to developing own control electronics and software, ruwido also researches into operating concepts along with the design, material and colour trends of the future for the CE industry. In the dynamic market for high-end entertainment electronics ruwido has worked internationally for decades for companies in all areas of home entertainment including leading platform operators and device manufacturers.
Established in 1969, ruwido benefits in particular from the know-how it has collected in over 30 years in the development and production of remote controls and infrared-based application systems. The company has set milestones in the industry such as the introduction of the world’s first infrared remote control in 1975. ruwido is also a reliable partner of many years’ standing for TV broadcasters, platform operators, device manufacturers and also hotel and shipping companies throughout Europe. Its customers include companies such as Metz, Loewe, Sony, Canal+, Premiere, NTL, ONO, telenet, UPC, Deutsche Telekom, Telecom Italia, Swisscom, KPN and Telekom Austria, Lufthansa Systemtechnik and Tomorrow Focus Technologies are also ruwido customers who supply cruise ships such as the “Queen Mary 2” and “Aida” as well as exclusive hotels with the developments from Neumarkt. Research, development and production are provided completely from one source at the Austrian headquarter in Neumarkt in the Salzburger Land.
The operating solutions provided by ruwido are just as innovative as the products of its numerous customers. Focus is placed on customised solutions for very individual requirements in which technology is harmonised with design as a result of far-reaching research work usually over many years. Some 20 per cent of the 170 employees of the technology expert are employed in the research and development area. There is also close collaboration with scientific establishments. Thus, for example, together with the Information and Communication Technologies Society (ICT&S) of the University of Salzburg, ruwido is investigating the ergonomic and technical requirements to provide simple and intuitive handling for the user. Because simple is not just simple: ruwido makes use of complex and intelligent technology on the inside which is decidedly uncomplicated and intuitive for the user. VEXO, the new universal remote control from ruwido, manages completely without buttons for the first time: a single “coin-key” operated by thumb controls up to 16 devices. And the VEXO does not even need a traditional operating manual, which in view of the sheer sea of functional breadth of modern CE devices is almost a provocation.
“Kaizen” from the Salzburger Land
Thanks to the orientation of the company to the quality management systems ISO 9001 - 2000 as well as TS 16949 ruwido products are characterised by the highest finishing quality and reliability. Production is set up according to the Japanese “Kaizen Principle”, thereby guaranteeing an efficient and continuously improving production flow.
“For many providers cost aspects were and continue to be the prime focus in the development of remote controls. However the customer sitting in the living room is necessarily forgotten in application of the ‘just make it cheap’ principle because a well-functioning and easy-to-use remote control is in actual fact the best proof of high quality entertainment electronics”, explains Ferdinand Maier, Managing Director of ruwido. “Conversely, is there anyone who has not been annoyed by the fact that the key assignment of his new DVD player is very complicated and the remote control difficult to handle?”
Completely independent production does not just serve the purposes of own independence but is also even indispensable for many product areas. The development of a keyboard for television (such as the ‘ruwido Living Room Keyboard’) does not mean merely taking over known elements of the PC counterpart and delivering the goods. Rather, a keyboard of this nature must be fundamentally revised to suit use in the living room. A remote control will slip out of the hand more frequently than a PC keyboard so that the television keyboard will require quite different, more resistant materials.
From the first design through development of software and hardware to production, ruwido pays attention to the smallest detail in an effort to harmonise technology and design. ruwido does not only benefit from its experience as a manufacturer of precision components for the car industry. “We know from the automobile industry that even the noise of a closing car door is analysed in detail and optimised in terms of the deep psychological overall experience provided by the car”, explains Ferdinand Maier. “In the development of remote controls we justifiably take a similar path because the demands placed on the remote control will increase parallel to the progressive perfectionism in the design and technology of entertainment electronics.“
The broad product range of ruwido is based on a common technology platform which in its turn is founded on four technology concepts. This makes it possible to develop very individual remote controls.
In the r-map ruwido has developed an independent patented infrared protocol permitting several devices to be controlled simultaneously by remote control.
r-base comprises a database, compiled over decades, that contains infrared codes of very different manufacturers of entertainment equipment on the market which in some models can be called up by the remote control by USB interface. r-mode contains the collective know-how of the company in the interaction of technology and design, i.e. the shaping and design of user interfaces under consideration of ergonomics, touch, colour perception etc. Finally, all services and solutions for OEM customers are united in r-way. Companies are given access to very different application examples for the implementation of remote controls in their own device environment.
“We will experience a situation in which the traditional cheap remote control will gradually become extinct in the face of the large number of applications and possibilities presented by the digital entertainment world”, of this Ferdinand Maier is certain. “At ruwido we therefore endeavour to track down the latest design and technology trends and in some areas we are even one step ahead. The new generation of remote controls therefore has the potential to advance into the living room as a central CE interface and design element, thereby becoming the best representative of the entertainment electronic brands.”
###
We would be happy to arrange appointments for background discussions, product demonstrations and interviews with ruwido at the IBC. Stefan Susbauer and Ansgar Gerber can be reached on mobile phones during the trade fair (see contact). ruwido is located at IBC stand 1.560.
