Wifi Inventor – In this modern era, of course we are all familiar and familiar with wifi technology. The technology is no longer a luxury tool. Because, almost everywhere we can find it. Starting from coffee shops, small shops, schools, offices, to shopping centers, there are also many that provide wifi.
Even ordinary houses are now starting to have wifi to support the internet network to keep it stable. When viewed from its definition, wifi is short for Wireless Fidelity, which is a wireless computer network that has been widely used to facilitate people’s activities. But, do you know who invented wifi? So, in this article, we will discuss who invented wifi and the history of its development to date. Don’t forget to listen carefully.
So, at first wifi could only be used for wireless device users and also Local Area Network (LAN). However, now wifi has a wider function, which is a technology that can be used to access the internet. Behind the presence of the wifi facility that we can enjoy now, do you believe that the inventor was a beautiful woman from Vienna, Austria named Hedy Lamarr. Not only has a beautiful face, but he also has a very bright brain. So that Hedy Lamarr can make a technology and patent it with the name wifi.
History of Wifi Inventor: Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was born on November 9, 1914. She is better known as a popular Hollywood actress who became famous when she played in a film called Ecstasy. That film finally succeeded in making Hedy Lamarr a famous Hollywood artist during the golden age of MGM.
It turns out that besides 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, where Hedy Lamarr succeeded in patenting a product called a secret communication system that uses radio frequency to exchange data. The product is considered to be a very strong and important foundation in communication technology.
This beautiful woman from Vienna has a talent for mathematics, then she tries to fight against the Nazis. Hedy Lamarr, who during World War II was the wife of Fritz Mandl, continued to observe the remote controlled torpedo system. But unfortunately, the technology did not make it to the production stage. Because, at that time such technology was still very vulnerable to jamming originating from enemies. There is one way that can be used to take advantage of the point of weakness, namely by stabilizing the synchronization between the signal from the sender and the signal from the receiver.
In 1940, Hedy Lamarr met George Antheil, a music composer. The meeting between the two people made Hedy Lamarr interested in inviting George to help him in making a tool that could help in synchronization. Then George also made a system based on the frequency of 88. The frequency is based on the number of keys on the piano. In order to avoid jamming, paper is then rolled which can help to synchronize between one and the other.
Obtained a Patent Regarding the Invention of Wifi
After two years of discovering wifi, Hedy Lamarr obtained her patent as someone who invented wifi technology. Initially the name of the invention concept was called Frequency Hopping. However, now the name has been changed to spread spectrum with the same basic idea.
Then in 1997, Hedy Lamarr received an award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, then three years later on January 19, 2000, Hedy Lamarr passed away. But until now wifi technology is still being used and developed. Almost all gadgets that exist today, ranging from laptops, smartphones, tablets, to even game consoles, are equipped with a wifi feature as a tool used to connect these devices to the internet. Therefore, many places such as airports, shopping centers, offices, restaurants, hotels, and others provide wifi facilities for the public. Usually the wifi facility provided is called a hotspot.
What is Wi-Fi?
Wifi is a form of utilizing wireless communication technology that is quite superior today. Wireless Fidelity or wifi can connect various devices to exchange information in two directions using the help of radio waves. This technology is indeed quite popular among teenagers. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance, namely someone who holds the wifi trademark, this technology has another definition, namely a wireless local area network product or any WLAN based on standards from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE 802.11.
This definition is disclosed because wifi has the ability to operate a Local Area Network or LAN without the use of wires or wireless. Meanwhile, according to experts, wifi also has several other definitions, such as:
a. Definition of Wifi According to Priyambodo
Priyambodo revealed that Wifi is an improvement of the internet network component through wireless wireless networking standards.
b. Definition of Wifi According to Onno W Purbo
According to him, Wifi is a network that uses radio as an intermediary between devices to be able to share information that can be used simultaneously with a certain speed and capacity that can affect it.
c. Definition of Wifi According to Yuhefizar
According to him, Wifi is a standard device used for communication using a wireless local network whose network is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.
d. Definition of Wifi According to Doni Kurniawan
He revealed that Wifi actually existed since the advent of the Pentium Three netbook. So it can be said that ifi is a technology that has existed for a long time. Until then this technology must be provided in netbooks pentium four and the next generation.
The name Wifi itself was first used as a commercial name in 1991, in August to be precise. The originator of the name Wifi is Interbrand Corporation, a brand consulting company employed by the WiFi Alliance. Interbrand Corporation has been appointed directly by the WiFi Alliance to create a trademark to replace IEEE 802.11b which is considered very difficult to remember by consumers and the general public. With the emergence of a new trademark, namely Wifi, it is hoped that it can become a well-known trademark among the public and certainly easy to remember.
History and Development of WiFi
WiFi itself has a long history. From the beginning of its discovery until it could develop into a sophisticated and popular technology as it is today. WiFi technology has been pioneered in the late 1970s by IBM. At that time, IBM was only releasing test results that they had designed, namely a wireless local area network or WLAN using IR technology. At the same time, Hewlett-Packard or HP companies were doing almost the same trials as IBM. It’s just that the difference is that HP only tests WLAN with RF technology.
But unfortunately, the results of the innovations of the two companies failed to be marketed because they did not meet the IEEE 802.11 LAN standard, namely 1 Mbps. Instead, they can only produce speeds of 100 Kbps. Then in 1985, WLAN development began to enter a more serious stage from a commercial perspective. The FCC designates the ISM band consisting of 5725-5850 MHz, 902-928 Mhz, and 2400-2483.5 MHz to be an unlicensed industrial band. This of course further supports the marketing of WLAN products that were circulating in the market in 1990.
The products being marketed are WLAN products that are equipped with IR technology, frequency 18 to 19 Hz, and have speeds of more than 1 Mbps, and have SS or Spread Spectrum techniques in the ISM band which make them even stronger. Then in 1997, the first WLAN standard was created by the IEEE or the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The standard contains 802.11 codes. Where devices that meet the qualifications of the 802.11 standard can work with data transmission speeds of up to 2 Mbps with a frequency of 2.4 GHz.
In 1999, to be precise in July, IEEE again presented its innovation which had a new standard entitled 802.11b. However, the 802.11b standard has a drawback, namely that it is easier for intervention to occur when it is used together with other devices that also use radio waves with the same or similar frequencies. It didn’t stop there, at almost the same time, IEEE also launched a new standard, namely 802.11a, which is much better and more capable. This is because these standards use different techniques. Where the standard frequency is 5 GHz. So that it can run fast with a speed of around 54 Mbps it has.
Although technically 802.11a is better than 802.11b, the 802.11a standard has a shorter range. This is because the waves cannot penetrate walls and other obstructions. Then in 2022, IEEE is back with a new standard, namely 802.11g which is the result of combining the advantages of 802.11a and also 802.11b. However, the 802.11g standard can work with speeds of around 54 Mbps and a frequency of 2.4 GHz. The advantage of 802.11g is that the device can be exchanged with the 802.11b standard and vice versa.
Not content to stop there, IEEE is back again with a stronger existence by issuing a new 802.11n standard. It is the result of a merger between 802.11b and 802.11g. This technology eventually became the newest Wifi technology known as MIMO or Multiple Input Multiple Output. MIMO itself has its own advantages compared to several existing technologies, namely 802.11a/b/g. Not only that, MIMO can also run very fast up to 108 Mbps and can penetrate all kinds of obstacles well and has a wider range.
One of the figures that is quite important and has an important role in the history of the development of Wifi, namely Vic Haley, who until now is known as the Father of WiFi. This nickname was given to Vic Haley because he was directly involved in the process of designing the first IEEE standard.
In 1992 and also in 1996, CSIRO, an organization originating from Australia, obtained a patent for a method for dealing with signal interference on WiFi networks. However, there are many other companies that infringe on these patents. So that there were 14 technology companies that ultimately had to pay compensation in the amount of 250 million dollars to CSIRO.
The development of WiFi at this time is quite rapid. As long as humans on this earth still need an internet network, then as long as WiFi will continue to develop to provide the best for society. If based on observer predictions in 2006, it is possible that in the United States there will be 530,000 hotspots that appear. Even in European countries it can reach 800,000 hotspots. Then in the Asian region there will be even more, namely around 1 million more hotspots.
Function From WiFi
As a technology that is loved by many people, WiFi certainly has several useful functions and can make human work easier. The following are some WiFi functions that need to be understood:
a. Make Internet Network Connection Smoother
With the presence of WiFi, users can access the internet more easily and practically, as well as with more capable speeds without using cables or wireless.
b. As File Sharing Media
WiFi can connect two electronic devices so that they can share files more easily and quickly without the need to install intermediary cables.
c. Smartphone and PC connector
By using WiFi, we can connect smartphones to laptops or PCs without the need to use USB.
d. Using a Smartphone As a Modem
If our smartphone is connected to WiFi, we can use the smartphone as a modem or hotspot.
e. Make Internet Connection Faster
The speed of data transmission that is owned by WiFi technology is indeed very high. Even for the latest version now it can reach 54 Mbps. So that it can make the internet connection faster.
f. Print on the Printer
By using WiFi, we can print a document on a PC and transfer it to a printer for later printing without the need to use a USB cable.
g. Transfer Photos or Videos From Digital Cameras
Through WiFi, we can directly transfer photos or videos of our work to a PC or laptop.
How Wi-Fi Works
Generally, WiFi or Wireless Fidelity operates using the help of radio waves. Radio waves are used as a medium for sending data requested or sent by WiFi users. The signal from the radio waves that are used will later be sent to the router which functions as a code translator or usually referred to as a decoder. After being translated by a code translator, the data will be sent to the internet network. How WiFi technology works with a two-way system, where data obtained via the internet at the same time will also pass through the router to be used as a code. It is then sent back to the wireless computer adapter in the form of a radio signal.
Those are some explanations about who invented WiFi, the history of its development, to its functions and how it works. In this increasingly sophisticated era, WiFi technology will certainly always be useful to help with all kinds of work and our affairs anywhere and anytime. So, it is appropriate for us to thank the people who have created and also developed this technology.