Actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil receive a patent for a Frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication system that later became the basis for modern technologies in wireless telephones, two-way radio communications, and Wi-Fi.

Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) is a method of transmitting radio signals by rapidly changing the carrier frequency among many frequencies occupying a large spectral band. The changes are controlled by a code known to both transmitter and receiver. FHSS is used to avoid interference, to prevent eavesdropping, and to enable code-division multiple access (CDMA) communications.

Hedy Lamarr Argentinean Magazine AD
Hedy Lamarr Argentinean Magazine AD (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Antheil 1927
Antheil 1927 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
George Antheil Signature transparent
George Antheil Signature transparent (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Frequency-hopping spread spectrum
Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Watch: What is a Spread Spectrum Signal and Why Are They Used?

From the Iain Explains Signals, Systems, and Digital Comms channel.

Sources and further reading: Wikipedia — Frequency-hopping spread spectrum, Hedy Lamarr, George Antheil, Wi-Fi (CC BY-SA). Images: Wikimedia Commons.