4 inventions, from Australia to the world
Every time people hear about Australia, they think about Kangaroos, the Sydney Opera House or Thor. But the truth is that there are many other reasons to admire this country, because many of the things that we know as great inventions in the world were born here.
Australia is the sixth largest country in the world, by land mass. It is a distant country for many people, especially for those who live in the Americas, which is why many of the things that happen here are not so well known elsewhere. However, Australia has contributed to the world many important inventions that have made life easier for everyone and probably many people still do not know that these inventions originated here.
Wi-Fi
The wireless network technology that allows phones, computers and other technologies to connect to the internet reliably was an Australian invention. Wi-Fi technology was created more than 20 years ago and nowadays it is found all over the world. Thanks to Wi-Fi, millions of people can communicate to each other and they know immediately what is happening in the world. Australian electrical Engineer, Dr. John O’Sullivan is credited with the development of this invention.
The Black Box
A research scientist at the Aeronautical Research Laboratory (ARL) in Melbourne, Australia, David Warren, was involved in the investigation respect of the world’s first jet-powered commercial aircraft, the Comet, which had suffered a series of deadly crashes in the mid-1950’s.
Warren thought that it would be useful for the investigation if they had had a recording of what happened in the aeroplane minutes before the crash and he had the idea to use an indestructible device to record important details during the flight.
Google Maps
Australian software engineers Noel Gordon and Stephen Ma were two of the four founders of Sydney-based digital mapping start-up Where 2 Technologies. They and Danish brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen developed the platform for Google Maps in Sydney in the early 2000s. Through Google Maps it is possible to see detailed information about geographical regions and sites around the world. Using Google Maps, people can not only can see conventional road maps, but also aerial and satellite views of many places and it also offers street views comprising of widespread photographs of streets around countries.
Cochlear implant
More than 35 years ago, Otolaryngology Australian professor Graeme Clark (researcher at the University of Melbourne during the 1970s) invented the first bionic ear, a Cochlear implant which is a device that is implanted into the head to electronically stimulate the auditory nerve. According to cochlear.com “In 1985 Professor Clark performed cochlear implant surgery on the first children (the first was 10 years old, the second five). Today, the youngest recipient is just a few months old, and by 2007 it became clear that deaf children could develop speech and language at normal rates if they received a cochlear implant early in life. And over the past 30 years it’s been proven that people of all ages can benefit from a cochlear implant, with the oldest recipient aged almost 100”. This technology has helped close to 200,000 people worldwide and it has been a life-changing for people of all ages.
Next time someone asks about Australia, there will be more things to say, besides the information that most people already know. There are many more valuable contributions that have transformed the lives of many people and that have been created here. All of them are from Australia to the world.
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