Ideas & Inventions · Communications1942
The frequency-hopping patent
Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil have patented a system that switches radio frequencies in coordination, intended to make guidance signals harder to detect or jam during wartime.
- The patent proposes synchronized changes across multiple radio frequencies.
- Its mechanism draws on player-piano-style coordination, an unusual implementation for military hardware.
- Turning a patent into a fielded system requires engineering, testing, procurement, and institutional confidence.
What happened next
Recognition arrived after the inventors’ chance to benefit.
Lamarr and Antheil did not profit from the invention during their lifetimes. The National Inventors Hall of Fame later recognized the patent as an important development in wireless communications.
1942Patent issued
2,292,387U.S. patent number
No profitFor the inventors
Later wireless systems should not be described as direct copies of this patent without a technical lineage source. The documented claim is narrower: the patent existed, the inventors did not profit, and its importance was recognized later.
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