Informal experiment in IR detection

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
1 reply · 3K views
Fewmet
Messages
406
Reaction score
38
One of my high school students recently demonstrated that the camera in an Android will detect the IR signal of a remote control, but the camera in an iPhone will not. (I understand that screening out IR is desirable in photography, and the distinction is arguably a matter of camera or filter quality.) It led us to try out the other devices on hand and wonder about the behaviors of other devices and other remotes.

If you are willing, please look at one or more remotes through camera(s) on your device(s) and post whether or not you can see the light from the IR bulb.

For example: the remote for my lab's Sharp laptop projector is detected by the webcam on my MacBook.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
A little more data (in hopes of eliciting more responses):
a) Neither the iPod Classic or Nano were tested picked a bulb removed from a remote (the student did not know the maker of the remote)
b) I tired the remote (which bears only the name Time-Warner Cable) that operates my VCR, Cable box and TV has two lights on it. They are detected by my iPod nano and by mmy MacBook webcam.

This (taken with the earlier observation that the iPod Nano picked up another IR bulb) is consistent with speculation that a remote which operates multiple devices has a wider IR range.