The Story of Wifi

[Image of a WiFi symbol and text appears on the screen: imagine fast wifi didn’t exist]

Narrator: Imagine fast WiFi didn’t exist.

[Image changes to show an animation of a male in an office chair holding a laptop which is attached to a desk by a long cable and text appears: your laptop would be tied to a desk]

Your laptop would be tied to a desk.

[Image changes to show three outlines of people suspended in a large spider web and text appears: spider webs of cables everywhere]

We’d have spider webs of cables everywhere.

[Camera zooms in on the centre of the spider web and then the camera zooms out to show the three outline people below the spider web]

Thankfully, the wireless wonder of fast WiFi has saved us from digital chains.

[Image changes to show an animation of the Milky Way and text appears: it all began with a journey to discover black holes]

It all began with a journey into deep space to discover black holes.

[Image changes to show “1980” printed on the centre of the screen and then an outline image of a person in wearing fluorescent green on their clothing appears on the left hand side of the screen and a car moves across the screen from the right to the left]

It was the ‘80s, a time of fluorescent clothes and time travelling DeLoreans.

[Image changes to show 12 computer outlines on the screen and text appears: computer networks were becoming crucial in all areas of life]

Computer networks were becoming crucial in all areas of life.

[Image shows the 12 computers connected together by cables and text appears; they were all connected with cables]

But at this point computers were all connected together with cables.

[Image changes to show the cords disappearing and radio signals moving between the computers and text appears: scientists were trying to cut the cords and send the data over radio]

Scientists were trying to cut the cords and send the data over radio.

[Image shows furniture appearing in between the computers and text appears: but it bounced off walls and furniture causing a smeary mess]

But it just bounced off walls and furniture and Depeche Mode cassettes, interfering with itself and causing a smeary, useless mess.

[Text appears: the problem had been solved years before]

As luck would have it, the problem had been solved years before…

[Image changes to show “1970” printed in the centre of the screen and then an outline disco dancer appears on the right hand side of the screen and an outline UFO appears moving from the top left to the bottom right hand side of the screen]

Wind back even further to the ‘70s, the decade that gave us disco and Star Wars.

[Text appears: John O’Sullivan and his team at the CSIRO Radio Astronomy Unit]

John O’Sullivan and his team at CSIRO’s radio astronomy unit

[Image changes to show an outline of the Milky Way with exploding black holes appearing at random and text appears: were trying to detect radio signals from distant exploding black holes]

were trying to detect radio signals from distant exploding black holes. Tiny ones, smaller than atoms.

[Text appears on a blue screen: to group the faint signals into something meaningful they came up with Fast Fourier Transforms]

To group the faint signals from space into something meaningful, they came up with complex equations called fast Fourier transforms.

[Text appears: but they didn’t find any black holes]

It was ingenious. But they didn’t find any black holes. So that was that.

[Image changes and “1990” appears printed in the middle of the screen and an outline image of a male playing a guitar appears on the right hand side of the screen and an outline image of a skeleton appears on the left hand side of the screen]

But flash forward to the ‘90s, for some Nirvana and X-Files

[Text appears: John O’Sullivan and his team decided to have a crack at wireless networking]

John and his team decided to have a crack at wireless networking,

[Text appears: Fast Fourier Transforms, those equations unsmeared the data being sent over radio]

and took those fancy fast Fourier transforms off the shelf. With those equations, they were able to unsmear the data being sent over radio,

[Image changes and the WiFi symbol and text appears: and formed the basis for fast WiFi]

and formed the basis for fast WiFi.

[Image changes and the WiFi symbol appears on the left hand side of the screen and text appears: in 1996, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent]

Then, in 1996, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent to CSIRO.

[Image changes to show different WiFi tech symbols on the screen and then all the other images disappear and the WiFi symbol remains in the centre of the screen and text appears: our fast WiFi has taken over the market]

While different types of Wifi tech were developed by others, our fast WiFi has taken over the market.

[Image changes to show an animation of Australia and the camera zooms out to show Australia in the world globe and then the image shows WiFi symbols appearing over the globe]

That means there’s over 5 billion devices around the world connecting to networks using our black-hole-hunting technology. You’re probably using it right now. So let us know if you see any black holes.

[Image changes and the CSIRO logo and text appears: big ideas start here, www.csiro.au]