Posted on April 27, 2023
Hedy Lamarr: The Hollywood Star Who Pioneered WiFi Technology
0
0
Although she died in 2000, Lamarr was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for the development of her frequency hopping technology in 2014. Such achievement has led Lamarr to be dubbed “the mother of Wi-Fi” and other wireless communications like GPS and Bluetooth
Hedy Lamarr: The Hollywood Star Who Pioneered WiFi Technology
Once upon a time, Hollywood actresses were synonymous with glamour, beauty and acting prowess. But Hedy Lamarr was much more than just that. Not only did she hold her own as a screen icon in the Golden Age of Hollywood, but she also left an indelible mark on technology by pioneering WiFi technology – something we all use every day! Join us as we delve into the fascinating life and achievements of this trailblazing woman who defied stereotypes and broke barriers both on-screen and off.
Introduction to Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor. She is best known for her work in the film industry during the 1930s and 1940s. However, Lamarr was also a skilled inventor, holding patents for several devices including a frequency-hopping signal system that pre-dated modern WiFi technology.
Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna, Austria in 1914, Lamarr showed an early interest in both acting and science. As a teenager, she landed small roles in a number of German films before landing her breakout role in the 1933 film Ecstasy. InEcstasy, Lamarr caused a sensation with her nude scenes and on-screen performance, which led to her being courted by Hollywood studios.
Lamarr made her Hollywood debut in the 1934 film Algiers and went on to star in a number of popular films over the next decade, including Samson and Delilah (1949) and Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956). Along with her successful acting career, Lamarr continued to pursue her interests in science and invention. In 1942, she co-invented a frequency-hopping signal system that was intended to help prevent radio-controlled torpedoes from being jammed by enemy forces.
Although the frequency-hopping system was not used during World War II, it forms the basis for modern WiFi technology. In 1997, Lamarr was awarded the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award
Hollywood Career of Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor. She is best known for her work in the film industry during the Golden Age of Hollywood, as well as her contribution to the development of WiFi technology.
Lamarr’s Hollywood career began in the early 1930s when she was signed by MGM Studios. She quickly rose to stardom thanks to her striking beauty and natural talent for acting. Some of her most notable films include Algiers (1938), Boom Town (1940), Comrade X (1940), and Samson and Delilah (1949).
In addition to her successful film career, Lamarr was also an inventor. In 1942, she patented a frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology which was later used in modern WiFi networks. This invention earned her a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.
Her Role as an Inventor
Hedy Lamarr was not only a Hollywood star, but also an inventor. She is best known for her role in the development of WiFi technology.
Lamarr was born in Austria in 1914. As a young woman, she moved to Hollywood where she became a successful actress. During World War II, Lamarr turned her attention to inventing. She developed a frequency-hopping signal that could be used to jam enemy radar. The technology was later used in WiFi and Bluetooth technologies.
Lamarr died in 2000 at the age of 86. However, her legacy as an inventor continues to live on.
The Invention of Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Technology
Invented in the early 1940s by actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil, frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology is a key component of modern wireless communications. By rapidly switching between different frequencies, spread spectrum signals are much more difficult to Intercept and jam than traditional signals.
Today, spread spectrum technology is used in a wide variety of applications, including WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS. It’s estimated that nearly three billion devices around the world use some form of spread spectrum technology.
Impact of Her Invention in Modern Technology
Hedy Lamarr’s invention of frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology is widely used in modern wireless communications. This technology helps to reduce interference in communication systems and allows for more efficient use of the radio spectrum. Lamarr’s work was instrumental in the development of modern wireless technologies, including WiFi and Bluetooth.
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who pioneered the technology that would one day form the basis for today’s WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems. As a natural beauty seen widely on the big screen in films like Samson and Delilah and White Cargo, society has long ignored her inventive genius.
Lamarr was originally Hedwig Eva Kiesler, born in Vienna, Austria on November 9th, 1914 into a well-to-do Jewish family. An only child, Lamarr received a great deal of attention from her father, a bank director and curious man, who inspired her to look at the world with open eyes. He would often take her for long walks where he would discuss the inner-workings of different machines, like the printing press or street cars. These conversations guided Lamarr’s thinking and at only 5 years of age, she could be found taking apart and reassembling her music box to understand how the machine operated. Meanwhile, Lamarr’s mother was a concert pianist and introduced her to the arts, placing her in both ballet and piano lessons from a young age.
Lamarr’s brilliant mind was ignored, and her beauty took center stage when she was discovered by director Max Reinhardt at age 16. She studied acting with Reinhardt in Berlin and was in her first small film role by 1930, in a German film called Geld auf der Straβe (“Money on the Street”). However, it wasn’t until 1932 that Lamarr gained name recognition as an actress for her role in the controversial film, Ecstasy.
Austrian munitions dealer, Fritz Mandl, became one of Lamarr’s adoring fans when he saw her in the play Sissy. Lamarr and Mandl married in 1933 but it was short-lived. She once said, “I knew very soon that I could never be an actress while I was his wife … He was the absolute monarch in his marriage … I was like a doll. I was like a thing, some object of art which had to be guarded—and imprisoned—having no mind, no life of its own.” She was incredibly unhappy, as she was forced to play host and smile on demand amongst Mandl’s friends and scandalous business partners, some of whom were associated with the Nazi party. She escaped from Mandl’s grasp in 1937 by fleeing to London but took with her the knowledge gained from dinner-table conversation over wartime weaponry.
While in London, Lamarr’s luck took a turn when she was introduced to Louis B. Mayer, of the famed MGM Studios. With this meeting, she secured her ticket to Hollywood where she mystified American audiences with her grace, beauty, and accent. In Hollywood, Lamarr was introduced to a variety of quirky real-life characters, such as businessman and pilot Howard Hughes.
Lamarr dated Hughes but was most notably interested with his desire for innovation. Her scientific mind had been bottled-up by Hollywood but Hughes helped to fuel the innovator in Lamarr, giving her a small set of equipment to use in her trailer on set. While she had an inventing table set up in her house, the small set allowed Lamarr to work on inventions between takes. Hughes took her to his airplane factories, showed her how the planes were built, and introduced her to the scientists behind process. Lamarr was inspired to innovate as Hughes wanted to create faster planes that could be sold to the US military. She bought a book of fish and a book of birds and looked at the fastest of each kind. She combined the fins of the fastest fish and the wings of the fastest bird to sketch a new wing design for Hughes’ planes. Upon showing the design to Hughes, he said to Lamarr, “You’re a genius.”
Lamarr was indeed a genius as the gears in her inventive mind continued to turn. She once said, “Improving things comes naturally to me.” She went on to create an upgraded stoplight and a tablet that dissolved in water to make a soda similar to Coca-Cola. However, her most significant invention was engineered as the United States geared up to enter World War II.
In 1940 Lamarr met George Antheil at a dinner party. Antheil was another quirky yet clever force to be reckoned with. Known for his writing, film scores, and experimental music compositions, he shared the same inventive spirit as Lamarr. She and Antheil talked about a variety of topics but of their greatest concerns was the looming war. Antheil recalled, “Hedy said that she did not feel very comfortable, sitting there in Hollywood and making lots of money when things were in such a state.” After her marriage to Mandl, she had knowledge on munitions and various weaponry that would prove beneficial. And so, Lamarr and Antheil began to tinker with ideas to combat the axis powers.
The two came up with an extraordinary new communication system used with the intention of guiding torpedoes to their targets in war. The system involved the use of “frequency hopping” amongst radio waves, with both transmitter and receiver hopping to new frequencies together. Doing so prevented the interception of the radio waves, thereby allowing the torpedo to find its intended target. After its creation, Lamarr and Antheil sought a patent and military support for the invention. While awarded U.S. Patent No. 2,292,387 in August of 1942, the Navy decided against the implementation of the new system. The rejection led Lamarr to instead support the war efforts with her celebrity by selling war bonds. Happy in her adopted country, she became an American citizen in April 1953.
Meanwhile, Lamarr’s patent expired before she ever saw a penny from it. While she continued to accumulate credits in films until 1958, her inventive genius was yet to be recognized by the public. It wasn’t until Lamarr’s later years that she received any awards for her invention. The Electronic Frontier Foundation jointly awarded Lamarr and Antheil with their Pioneer Award in 1997. Lamarr also became the first woman to receive the Invention Convention’s Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award. Although she died in 2000, Lamarr was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for the development of her frequency hopping technology in 2014. Such achievement has led Lamarr to be dubbed “the mother of Wi-Fi” and other wireless communications like GPS and Bluetooth.
Conclusion
The story of Hedy Lamarr is one of remarkable innovation and creativity. Despite the sexism she faced in her lifetime, Lamarr was a pioneering force in communications technology, inventing ideas which would eventually lead to the development of Bluetooth and WiFi technologies. Her legacy continues to inspire generations of engineers and scientists today, proving that no matter who you are or where you come from, anything is possible with dedication and hard work.
Recent Comments