The New Breed Of Universal Remote

A Windows XP application, NevoMedia Manager, works with media PCs and the Universal Plug-n-Play (UPnP) protocol stack. It enables browsing of available digital content to stream music, share photos, and play movies on UPnP-compliant network devices anywhere in the home.

A companion product, NevoLink, is an IP-addressable bridge that lets the NevoSL control devices in a cabinet or other rooms. It features a built-in Ethernet connection and offers a 180 IR spread via six built-in, high-power color infrared diodes or six external IR extenders (or "bugs").

NevoLink comes with an ac power adapter, 10-ft IR extender cables, five switch plugs, and an installation guide. It measures 3 by 4 by 1.25 in. and weighs 0.25 lb. Also, it operates from a 5-V dc, 800-mA power supply.

UEI created a marketing requirements document. From that, the company derived a product requirements document and hardware and software specifications for the NevoSL and NevoLink. During the design process, which took about a year, UEI's design and engineering teams met regularly with UEI marketers in the U.S. and Europe, who had to sign off on the final design. Along with gathering feedback from customers at MyNevo.com, UEI conducted focus groups to identify ergonomic issues and graphical-user-interface preferences.

"Video was taken of subjects interacting with initial product concepts, and we incorporated that feedback," says Dresti. Early in the design effort, UEI solicited advice from professional custom home-theater installers to fine-tune the products' feature set. "This feedback significantly influenced the development of NevoStudio, which is the custom installer's interface with the product," notes Dresti.

SHAPING UP - UEI's design team used Pro/Engineer and Rhino 3D NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) software to create the NevoSL. The team began its work by creating a visual map in the form of a quadrant—" simple/complex" and "refined/whimsical"—to determine an appropriate design language. Then, the team settled on "refined" and "simple."

"The designers combined rectilinear surfaces and subtle curves to give the SL a sleek and sophisticated form," says Dresti. "Softer shapes tend to make a 'friendlier' and 'easyto-hold' impression."

Designers began to explore ergonomically friendly shapes that would be easy to grip with large or small hands and would also create an illusion of weightlessness. They used intersecting surfaces to form a finger grip. A pronounced "waistline" directs users toward the navigation island. A two-tone surface breakup and tapered sides make the remote appear thinner without sacrificing functionality.

The bottom corners of the remote were softened, and the bottom itself was tapered to make it more comfortable to hold (Fig. 4). The bottom case groove detail was designed to enable single-handed operation and permit users to transition more easily from the remote's hard keys to the soft keys on its LCD touchscreen.

"The design team knew users would interact with the hard keys as much as with the screen," says Dresti. "They worked to find the right balance of soft and hard keys so as not to overwhelm the user. Only the keys that were independent of a device would be exposed. Others would be shown on the screen."

Three key layout schemes were considered—square, circular, and transitional—to determine the best combination of key shape, size, and location for ease of use without users having to look at the keys. "The designers looked at how users would most likely hold the remote and the patterns where fingers would rest," Dresti explains. "Square keys were effective in bringing custom keys closer to the LCD, but they weren't very inviting, aesthetically. Round keys were just the opposite."

The custom keys incorporated the square LCD and transitioned into softer, rounder shapes that were more visually inviting. The transitional shapes were further refined, and a final key layout was chosen.

A clear plastic cradle and a charging base were designed to give users the option of interacting with the remote when it's being charged. The angle of the base positions the remote for optimal IR transmission. The cradle illuminates to a blue glow that highlights the remote and creates a floating effect.