The Inventor of WiFi and the History of Its Development – The use of WiFi is currently inseparable in everyday life to access the internet network. This technology is also easier to find in various places. Starting from homes, schools, offices, cafes, to shops.
WiFi is a wireless networking technology that allows wireless devices such as laptops and mobile phones to access the internet. Through WiFi we can access the internet easily without having to connect the device to it via cable.
Seeing the massive use of WiFi today, of course this technology has a long history. Reviewing the development of WiFi is certainly not interesting if you do not mention who the original inventor was. Here is a complete review of the history of WiFi development.
WiFi Discovery
Who would have thought that this technology was discovered by a popular Hollywood artist. She is Hedy Lamarr . Hedy Lamarr was born on November 9, 1914. Born in Vienna, Austria, she not only has a stunningly beautiful face but also a genius brain.
In the midst of his busy schedule as an artist, he apparently has a hobby of researching. Being a popular Hollywood artist also benefits him in the field of research.
From here he could have access to socialize with important figures such as John F Kennedy and Howard Hughes. From them he got important equipment to run various experiments that he made.
It turns out that apart from having a beautiful face, this woman who was born in Vienna, Austria, is also considered to have a very genius brain.
This was proven in 1942, when Hedy Lamarr successfully patented her product, which was called a secret communication system that used radio frequencies to exchange data.
The product is considered to be a very strong and important foundation in communication technology. He developed his contribution to the history of WiFi together with avant-garde composer George Antheil.
This meeting made Lamarr want to invite George to help her in creating a tool that could help in synchronization. From the music project, composer Antheil had extensive experience with synchronizing piano players, or pianolas.
The two took inspiration from this to develop a secret communications system for remote control of torpedoes, based on a frequency hopping mechanism that switched between 88 different frequencies.
In 1942, they received a patent for this system. This discovery was later named Frequency Hopping. But now the name has been changed to spread spectrum with the same basic idea.
WiFi Development
Hedy Lamarr’s discovery became an important discovery that was continued in 1971. The development of WiFi began with ALOHAnet connecting the Hawaiian Islands with a UHF wireless packet network.
ALOHAnet and the ALOHA protocol were early precursors to Ethernet, and later the IEEE 802.11 protocols, respectively.
One of the figures who is considered to have a big role in the discovery of WiFi is Vic Hayes. He is often considered the “father of WiFi”. He started his research in 1974 when he joined NCR Corp.
In 1991, NCR Corporation with AT&T Corporation invented the predecessor of 802.11, which was intended for use in cash register systems. This first wireless product was under the name WaveLAN. They are credited with creating WiFi.
The first version of the 802.11 protocol was released in 1997, and provided link speeds of up to 2 Mbit/s. This was updated in 1999 with 802.11b and allowed link speeds of 11 Mbit/s, and this proved popular.
WiFi trademark
In 1999, the WiFi Alliance was formed as a trade association to hold the WiFi trademark. The WiFi name, in commercial use since at least August 1999, was created by the brand consulting firm Interbrand.
The WiFi Alliance hired Interbrand to come up with a name that was “a little more catchy than ‘IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence.’” Phil Belanger, a founding member of the Wi-Fi Alliance who led the selection of the name “WiFi,” has stated that Interbrand created Wi-Fi as a pun on the word hi-fi.
Interbrand also created the WiFi logo. The logo is designed in a simple monochrome color, similar to the “yin” and “yang” symbol.
Until now, the development of WiFi is quite rapid. The need for internet is also increasingly massive. As a technology that is needed by many people, WiFi has a very useful role in easing various jobs. Especially making internet network connections smoother.
