Robert Adler was born in Vienna, Austria in 1913. He attended the University of Vienna and graduated with a Ph. D. in Physics in 1937. After moving to the United States, Adler teamed up with Zenith Electronics in 1941 and immediately proved to be an asset to the company.

Adler was most recognized in his lifetime as the "Father of the TV Remote Control" but his inventions and contributions to society didn’t stop there. Robert Adler held countless US Patents for his inventions and his commendable research resulted in a number of contributions to the electronics industry.

While Adler was with Zenith Electronics, he held various positions and titles. In 1952, he became the associate director and later went on to become vice president in 1959. It wasn’t until 1963 that he earned the position of vice president and director of research but it was certainly well deserved for the effort and contributions he made to Zenith and the electronic industry. Even after Robert Adler retired in 1982, he remained as a Zenith consultant active in the technical consults needed.

Dr. Adler didn’t invent the first remote control actually discovered but the discovery he made with his invention of the wireless remote control showed improvement in electronics while allowing more of them to develop. The remote control that Adler invented in the 1960s would later be used in television sets incorporating ultrasonic signals that allowed sound to communicate high frequency tones to act as the functioning control. This powerful invention took remote controls to a new era.

Robert Adler was adorned with many commendations for his achievements over his lifetime including the 1967 Inventor of the Year from George Washington University’s Patent, Trademark and Copyright Research Institute. In 1970, he earned the Consumer Electronics Outstanding Achievement Award from IEEE. Later, he received an induction into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame in the year 2000. There were various other lifetime achievements and awards to honor them. Robert Adler was 94 when he died.