INVENTIONS

Hedy Lamarr (center left) and George Antheil (center right)

(Source: Reframed Pictures​​​​​​​)

Hedy Lamarr’s work in communication during World War II was crucial to the development of modern communication methods used today. Between the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Lamarr conceived her most groundbreaking idea with George Antheil, an avant-garde composer whom Lamarr selected as a partner for his understanding of sound.​​​​​​​

Lamarr's Invention: The Key to Communication

Together, with Lamarr leading the project, the two invented frequency hopping across 88 radio stations, matching the 88 keys on a piano. Frequency hopping is a method of communication in which a radio signal’s carrier frequency changes at different intervals, and can “hop” from one band to another.


"I got the idea for my invention when I tried to think of a way to even the balance for the British. A radio controlled torpedo I thought would do it.

~Hedy Lamarr, speaking in an article about her invention​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

(National Archives at Kansas City Newsletter)

Lamarr and Antheil's patent could have significantly decreased

the duration of World War II, had it been implemented at the time

Years Without Credit

This spread-spectrum method of contact would have been used to communicate with radio-controlled torpedoes, however, the idea was not implemented until the 1980s. This was partly due to the mindset of the time period, where many believed that a young actress like Lamarr could not contribute to the technological world.   

Patent Acceptance

Years later, Lamarr discovered that her patent had been put to use in military communication. By the time of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, every navy ship that President Kennedy sent to Cuba was equipped with frequency hopping technology. Her patent was sent to a contractor, Romulus Irenus ‘Scibor-Marchoki, who used it in 1955 to create the Sonobuoy, a floating submarine communication device. Using Lamarr’s patent without credit, the military created modern-day methods of wartime communication. Though she was rebuffed in the past, her frequency hopping technology would help develop methods of communication now taken for granted, such as Bluetooth, WiFi, and wireless networks.

(PBS LearningMedia)

Hedy Lamarr signing war bonds to help the military in place of

the military accepting her patent.

(Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story)

A portrait of Romulus 'Scibor

(Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story)

Hedy Lamarr presenting her patent to the military


Recognition At Last

Once her contributions were uncovered in 1997, she was honored with a Pioneer Award. Without Lamarr’s designs, the long-distance communication known today would not exist.

(Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story)

Lamarr no longer wished to be seen in public,

so her son presented a recording of her accepting the honor.

Today, Lamarr's work in frequency hopping is recognized

for providing the foundation for many modern communication

methods, including WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS.