Navy Revitalizes Broad Spectrum Technology
While Lamarr’s work wasn’t really appreciated during World War II, by the 1960’s more people and specifically researchers were paying attention. With the Cold War in full swing and the Vietnam theater heating up, the United States needed to create un-jammable torpedoes and other radio-controlled devices. Both government researchers and private firms were aggressively pursuing frequency-hopping, spread-spectrum technology and other related technologies.
This spread-spectrum technology would prove vital for numerous later breakthroughs. Many of the technologies we now use every day rely on radio technology and specifically spread-spectrum and also frequency-hopping technology. Spread spectrum technology essentially spreads signals across different frequencies. By doing so the signal has a wider bandwidth. This reduces natural interference, makes the signal harder to jam, and otherwise makes it more stable.
Spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology are important for many of the wireless technologies we currently use. For example, Bluetooth uses Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum, which combines both frequency hopping and spread spectrum. This makes the signal very stable and reliable, which is very important for Bluetooth connections.
GPS also relies on spread-spectrum technology. For GPS, communication between satellites and receivers is very important. By and large, GPS only works if communication is constant. Spotty communication between receivers and satellites would essentially make the technology useless.
Wifi also relies on spread spectrum technology. Wifi has to transfer tremendous amounts of data and information. As such, signal strength and reliability are both essential. Without a steady and strong signal wireless Internet would be very limited. This, in turn, would limit the use of smartphones and other wireless Internet devices.
Hedy Lamarr didn’t invent all of these technologies, of course. However, her ideas were essential and did provide a foundation for future research. Lamarr also wasn’t the first person to come across spread spectrum or frequency hopping either. Regardless, her research and insights did pave the way for future breakthroughs.