Hedy Lamarr, an actress and inventor who pioneered the technology that would one day form the basis for today’s WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems (1937). Restored and colorized by me. (2024)

    by ceisce

    7 Comments

    1. No-Individual-8874 on

      Wow, that’s amazing! Hedy Lamarr was truly ahead of her time with her inventions. It’s fascinating to think about how her work has influenced modern technology like WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth.

    2. figuring_ItOut12 on

      She and another fellow did pioneer some research but it was unworkable given the technology of the time. Much like the concept of Babbage’s Analytical Engine couldn’t be built and we wouldn’t see computers for many more decades.

      There was other pioneering work in the same vein that actually is the DNA of today’s technology. Hers was a great accomplishment but unfortunately didn’t get any traction.

      Nice re-colorization, has that glowing high-quality manual touchup work from that time period.

    3. In case anyone is curious, In 1942, Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil received U.S. patent 2,292,387 for their “Secret Communications System”, an early version of frequency hopping using a piano-roll to switch among 88 frequencies to make radio-guided torpedoes harder for enemies to detect or jam. They then donated the patent to the U.S. Navy.

    4. BrutalGuise on

      What the hell are you worried about? This is 1874. You’ll be able to sue her.

    5. Woerterboarding on

      Why does she look like she starred in Alice in Wonderland? What that the fashion then?

    Leave A Reply