I built two remotely controlled flashlight for a Halloween game.
For that I added a micro-controller in flashlights, which would receive the signal from an IR remote, and switch on/off the light (with a flickering fading pattern).
the circuit is really simple:
For the micro-controller I used an Atmel ATtiny85V. This can directly work with 2xAA batteries (2.0-3.0V) and 3xAAA (3.0-4.5V). Thanks to its small size it can be installed inside the flashlight.
this was more a proof of concept. it used an old incandescent-bulb-based flashlight. since the case is transparent, the IR receiver can also be placed inside.
this uses a more robust flashlight in an aluminium case. the LED in the center has been replaced by the IR receiver.
two firmware versions have been writte:
to remotely control the flash light, I used a Nikon remote control. it was originally intended to trigger the shutter of some Nikon camera. but I re-used it because the form factor and single large button fitted my use case.
here are sigrok traces of the IR signal transmitted by the remote.
to be sure the operator could remotely control the flashlight in all circunstances, I also provided a TV-B-Gone (Kit) re-programmed to only send the Nikon code (at very high power).