A remote control device includes: a detector that detects a time-dependent change of a position of a recognition target object; a motion recognition unit that recognizes a gesture corresponding to the time-dependent change of the position of the recognition target object detected by the detector; a controller that generates a control signal based on the gesture recognized by the motion recognition unit; and a transmitter that transmits the control signal to an apparatus having a drivable portion to command a movement of the drivable portion.