That’s why some equipment now uses RF remotes. [Xtropie] used a pair of inexpensive 433 MHz RF modules to convert an IR system to RF. You can see a short video about the project below.

The small open source hackable IR and RF remote features 9 IR LEDs and an IR receiver, 433 MHZ RF modules, built-in ambient light, temperature and humidity sensors.

Global engineering services company, Cloud2GND, in partnership with wireless technology specialists, Ezurio (formerly Laird Connectivity), has released a module designed to simplify development of ...

Packaged in a reflow-compatible SMD package, the modules are claimed to combine a highly optimized RF stage with a parallel encoder/decoder.