Wireless Control Firm in Thailand Seeks Wider Market.

Byline: Supaphan Plengmaneepun

Nov. 7--Consumers can now buy a wireless control system for home and office lighting, a product first conceived in 1993 by a local manufacturer, R&D Computer System Ltd.

A prominent local producer of anti-virus cards and the Autocross system that links a printer to several computers, R&D recently introduced its new product under the WhyWire brand name of its wholly owned subsidiary, WhyWire Management System Ltd (www.why-wire.com).

The idea sounds simple, but R&D managing director Pruti Maolanon said it was difficult to develop a high-tech product that was both user-friendly and compatible with existing systems.

R&D first showcased the prototype of the WhyWire system at the BoI Fair in February last year. Although many visitors showed strong interest, it took the company another 18 months to commercialise the product.

WhyWire uses one remote-control circuit board to handle the electrical system of an entire house, using transmission power of just 0.01 watts, compared with two watts used by mobile phones.

The company is developing other control systems that can operate on personal digital assistants or special key rings. Refinements will include switching lighting off and on through pre-recorded tones, movement measurement sensors or the Internet.