From Indian Navy Sonar to Global Wi-Fi: Engineer Arogyaswami Paulraj's MIMO Legacy
Arogyaswami Paulraj, who created an indigenous sonar system for the Indian Navy in the 1970s, later invented MIMO technology that underpins modern 4G, 5G and Wi-Fi networks.
Arogyaswami Paulraj, a Tamil Nadu native who entered the Indian Navy as a teenager, was dispatched to IIT Delhi for advanced study and completed a PhD in electrical engineering in 1973. After a naval loss in the 1971 India-Pakistan conflict highlighted sonar deficiencies, he led the development of the Advanced Panoramic Sonar Hull-Mounted (APSOH), which entered fleet service in 1983, showcasing India's capacity for indigenous defense technology.
During a stint at Stanford in the 1980s, Paulraj observed that radio signals arriving via different paths could be exploited rather than treated as interference, birthing the MIMO concept in 1992 and securing a patent two years later. He founded Iospan Wireless in 1998 to bring MIMO to market; Intel later purchased its technology. He also co-founded Beceem Communications, a key wireless semiconductor firm later bought by Broadcom.
His contributions have earned him the 2014 Marconi Prize, the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, the IET Faraday Medal, the Royal Academy of Engineering's Prince Philip Medal, and induction into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame. Paulraj's career illustrates how solutions to military challenges can evolve into civilian technologies that shape everyday connectivity.
Why it matters
Paulraj's shift from naval sonar to MIMO enabled the high-speed wireless networks that power modern communication worldwide.
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