Old infrared remote controls can be a great way to interface with your projects. One of [AnalysIR’s] latest blog posts goes over the simplest way to create an Arduino based IR receiver, making ...

The part list consists of one Arduino, two resistors, and one IR emitter. That’s right, an emitter. When an LED (IR or otherwise) is reverse biased it can act as a light sensor.

An IR emitter is a light-emitting diode (LED) that emits light in the IR spectrum, while an IR receiver is a device that detects and decodes the light emitted from the IR emitter.

Keeping your components out of sight is easy if you use an IR repeater to relay your remote control signals.