LECTURE L11EARLY INNOVATORS

Think about this

How does technology evolve?

Adjacent PossibleLaw of Accelerating Returns

The S-curve

The Prevailing Technology Trap

Wars have been won on intelligence and the speed of communications

Militaries and business community on the forefront on the development of rapid communication

Communication

Early 19th century the horse dominatedStage coaches and pony expressThe railroads changed thisThen came electricity

Communication

Flickr  image:  -­‐Qualsiasi

Electricity

Electricity

Long before the 19th century, people had acknowledged electronic forces

Benjamin Franklin’s famous Kite experiment in 1752 proved

that lightning was made of electricity

Scientific Discoveries

From 1820 to 1880 saw series in radio and electromagnetismEra of poor communication and non-systematic researchDuplicated work, misunderstood results, and often misinterpreted own results

Early Discoveries

Christian Oersted

Discovered electromagnetism (rafsegulsvið) 1820

Electric current (straumur) creates a magnetic field (segulsvið)

Early DiscoveriesMichael Faraday

In 1821 reversed Oersted’s experiment and discovered induction (leiðni)

He got current to flow through wire around a magnet

Magnetic energy could be converted to electricity – Faraday’s Law

Early DiscoveriesJoseph Henry

Scientist professor with College of New Jersey

Transmitted the first practical electric signal (rafboð) in 1830

This was the foundation forelectric signalling – the telegraph

Early DiscoveriesJames Maxwell

Published papers on electricity Maxwell’s Equations 1864

Light, electricity, and magnetisms are related and travel or radiate in waves

Waves depend on frequency

Early DiscoveriesHeinrich Hertz

Defined and documented a practical way to send and receive radio waves, 1888

Used Maxwell’s Equations

Timeline

ConclusionsSeveral discoveries were made 1820-1880Electricity, Radio, ElectromagnetismsLaw of Accelerating Return

This laid foundation for new disruptive technologiesAdjacent Possible

The Second Industrial RevolutionThe period 1870-1914 Innovations in the chemical, electric, petroleum and steel industries

Growth period

“The Age of Synergy”

When most great innovations were developedBegun with Bessemer steel in the 1860s and culminated in mass production and the production line

The Second Industrial Revolution

The Long Wave

Kondratiev Waves

1780 – 1830 Cotton, Iron, Water Power1830 – 1880 Railways, Steam Power, Steamships1880 – 1930 Electricity, Chemicals, Steel

Think About ThisWhat was the killer application of electricity?

Lighting became one of the first publicly available applications

In 1880 Tomas Edison had developed a light-bulb that last enough time to be practical

Several commercial solutionsLack of standards Power transmissions and wiring of household

"War of Currents"

Light

Electromagnetism and RadioFoundation for electroniccommunications

New markets for communicationTelegraphPhoneWireless Telegraph

Communication

Study Exercise

“What has God wrought” Morse’s first message

from Baltimore to the U.S. capital

The Telegraph

Study Exercise

The Telegraph

From the Greek wordstele = far and graphein = write(símriti)

Later to be called the “Victorian Internet”

Simple device with battery and key for sending electric signals

At the other end was a similar device emitting sound or printing the signal

The Telegraph

The TelegraphSamuel F. B. Morse invented the first practicaltelegraph in 1837

Granted a patent 1838

Moore devised a telegraphic code consistingof dots and dashes

Shorter and longer electric impulse send down the wire - The Morse Code

Standardised messages

The TelegraphThe Telegraph Business was born

Morse sold licenses to companies that operated telegraph stations

In 1851 there were over 50 companies in the US selling telegraph services – including Western Union

Market consolidation

Study Exercise

The Telephone

“Mr. Watson, come here, I want you!” - Alexander G. Bell, the first telephone

message

Study Exercise

The Telephone

Invented in 1876At the time, the telegraph was dominantTransferred sound waves with electric current over wire

Alexander G. Bell Created the first practical telephone

Based on experiments and improvements in technology at the time

The TelephoneBell was working on the harmonic telegraph

A device that could send more then one telegraph message at the same time

Worked with skilled machinist named Thomas A. Watson

Joseph Henry encouraged him in 1875 to work on the telephone instread of the harmonic telegraph

The telephone was based on variable resistance (breytilegu viðnámi)

The Telephone

The Importance of Patents

Bell filed a notice for a patent Feb. 14, 1876“The most valuable patent ever issued” Elisha Gray also filed a patent that same day

The Patent Mystery It is still a mystery what happened that dayDid Bell see Gray’s patent and update his?Over 600 legal battles would challenge the patent

Commercial Development

Bell had difficulty convincing contemporaries of the usefulness of the telephone - the telegraph prevailed

Difficult to get investment

Bell offered the patent to Western Union for $100.000 which they declined

Bell continued and slowly telephonesstarted to replace telegraphs

The Bell Company

In 1877 Bell and his backers formed the first Bell Company

Gardiner Hubbard and George Sanders

Business model: Bell Company leased telephones and licensed franchises instead of selling them

The Battle with Western UnionWestern Union was very powerful company – near-monopoly in telegraphs with a huge network of wires

Western Union started competing with Bell in 1877

Founded American Speaking Telephone Company with Thomas Edison, Elisha Gray, Amos Dolbear

Made many improvements

The Battle with Western UnionBell sued Western Union for patent infringements

The case was settled in 1879

Bell agreed not to go into the telegraph market, and Western Union agreed not to go into the telephone market

Bell would buy Western Union’s telephone network with 50.000 subscribers in 50 cities and pay a license

Stock in Bell’s company rose from $50 to $500 in 1879

At least 1.730 telephone companies organised and operated during Bell’s patent protection

Emergence of a new Market

Within few years many telephone companies were formed

Bell licensed telephone equipment

In 1878 • First commercial switchboard started operation• First telephone directory came out with fifty names• The Ringing was invented – and patented

Patent Protection

Telephone Giant is born

AT&T Founded in 1885 to raise capital to fund the continued expansion and protect the market positionConnected the RBOCs for long distance calls

Bell Became the largest telephone company

In 1982 Bell was worth $256 billionIn 1984, split into AT&T and seven other independent companies

Study Exercise

“The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary telegraph is like a very long cat. You

pull the tail in New York, and it meows in Los Angeles. The wireless is the same, only without the cat.”

- Albert Einstein

Wireless Communication

Study Exercise

History

At the dawn of the 20th century, two mediums for communication were dominant

The telegraph: Became important in the American Civil War (1861-65), dominated by Western Union

The telephone: Dominant technology with the growth of Bell

Both these technologies had one problem: they were wire-based

HistoryKnowledge of radio waves is increasing

Hertz proved Maxwell’s theories and demonstrated the existence of radio waves

Next steps Commercial Solutions Many tried to build devices that sent and received “Hertzian waves”

Wireless Telegraphy “Spark Transmitter” for sending signals – Morse Code The Prevailing Technology Trap

Innovators

Guglielmo Marconi saw an opportunityin wireless communication

Studied physics at the Universityof Bologna

Several experiments in 1894 inBologna, Italy

Marconi’s goal was to use hisknowledge developed in telephony

The Product

Marconi was improving the telegraph

“Spark Transmitter” where signals could represent the Morse code

Potential market:Maritime market – British Royal NavyTransatlantic communication

Marconi DemonstrationsMarconi provided public trails of his equipment

Became a news item himself – provided interest in the technology and investing in his company

Skepticism and CompetitionMany scientists were happy to point out flaws in Marconi’s inventions Many tried to discredit his work These were mostly scientists, others competitors

Doubts that wireless had any application Limitations – radios worded on fixed frequency Security – anyone could listen in The telegraph was initially 20 times faster

Cable companies showed no interest in wireless

The Wireless Telegraph BubbleWireless Telegraph was popular in the press Public demonstration

Many companies competed for stock funding Resulted in Stock inflations

“The Wireless Telegraph bubble”

Sceptic voices started to respond

Series of articles in Success Magazine, “Fools and their money” appeared 1907

The MarketThe market was where cables don’t work Ships became the prime market Airplanes when they became more common

Military use – where cables cannot be laid Mobility – easy to move wireless equipment

Problems No communication protocol was in use Each company had their own protocol

Government RegulationNo regulations controlled the airwaves

The sinking of RMS Titanic prompted governments to set international standards of communicationThe Marconi operator on the Titanic sent “C.Q.D”

C.Q. meant attention, D was for DistressSOS is ... - - - ...

Wireless CommunicationAround 1940 ideas for wireless communication were established

40-50 years would pass before common practical application of a mobile phone

It was not until the development of microchips and technology for building devices, that wireless communication became practical for individuals

Rules and cautiousness were to delay the progress

Also investments in land based systems

Study Exercise

Wireless Communication

Wireless communication started early 20th centuryAdvanced during the wars

Wireless radio was important in WWIIMany innovations such as spread spectrum and frequency hopping

Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler 1913-2000

"Films have a certain place in a certain time period. Technology is

forever” - Hedy Lamarr

Wireless Communication

After the war, use of wireless was restricted to certain professions– Military, Police, Fire Departments– Taxis

Not public solutions

Mobile Radio Networks

The ideas for mobile radio networks were developed in the 1940s

Area of radio cells – Cellular networkEarly Systems

Bell Labs, AT&T International systems

Adjacent Possible

TECHNICAL

BigLimitedExpensive

CULTURAL

PoliticalCommercial

The Digital Revolution

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