System and method for universal control of devices

摘要

A method and apparatus that gives a human user universal control of electronic devices. The apparatus includes a local display device having a simulation viewer program for simulating controls of the electronic device on a display, where the simulation is generated based on a simulation configuration file associated with each electronic device. The local display device loads the simulation configuration file of a selected electronic device communicating on a communications network and simulates the controls of the electronic device associated with the loaded simulation configuration. The communications network is preferably a wireless network using a Bluetooth communications protocol. When a user selects an identifier on the local display device designating a particular electronic device, the simulation viewer program requests and receives from the electronic device, the simulation configuration file that allows the simulation viewer program to simulation the appearance and functions of the electronic device on the local display device.