Hedy Lamarr

Most of us know Hedy Lamarr as a Hollywood actress but few are aware of her genius invention. She was born as Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Austria. She dreamed of being an actress-and made it a reality, overcoming many obstacles to achieve this goal. When her husband came and tried to stop her from acting, she left him and fled to London where she met a big producer and got an acting contract from MGM and a new name. Besides acting she had a workshop where she tried her hand on inventing new things.

During World War II, when the National Inventors Council was accepting suggestions from civilians, Hedy got a chance to present her idea through which she could solve a problem faced by the US Navy. She suggested that she had invented a device which could be used to prevent signal jamming by the radio guided torpedoes and thus putting them off course. Following a conversation at a dinner party, Hedy developed the frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS), along with George Antheil, an avant-garde music composer. They figured out that radio signals can change frequencies in the same manner as a piano player changes notes. She registered a patent on her invention in 1942, but the US military did not use the device.

Hedy was disheartened but did not lose hope. She used her fame to raise money in war bonds to help the military. FHSS was finally used in 1962 when the military found that it is an important tool to control torpedoes. FHSS is not only limited to controlling torpedoes but it is the foundation on which modern day technology like smartphones, GPS, and Bluetooth devices work. For this invention she is now recognized in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.