Bluetooth
Jaap Haartsen, Ericsson, Sweden, patent applications from 1994. Frequency-hopping radio named for a Viking king.
Overview
Ericsson's Haartsen built the short-range frequency-hopping spec in 1994, patents filing through the decade. The 1998 SIG with Nokia, Intel, Toshiba, and IBM made it royalty-light and universal. The name borrows Harald Bluetooth, the king who united Denmark and Norway. Headsets, cars, earbuds, and IoT chatter on 2.4 GHz ever since. Hedy Lamarr's 1942 frequency-hopping patent is its spiritual ancestor. Haartsen was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2015.
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