The object
Jaap Haartsen laid the foundations for Bluetooth while developing short-range radio links for mobile phones at Ericsson. The radio interface made cable-free hardware connections practical for phones, headphones, keyboards, speakers and many other battery-powered products, becoming a durable component of consumer electronics.
What Jaap did
Laid the technical foundations for the Bluetooth short-range radio system and chaired its air-protocol specification group.
Why it matters
NIHF identifies Bluetooth as the technology that enabled wireless connections among everyday devices and records Haartsen’s leadership in standardizing the radio interface.
Living-status check
A February 2026 NIHF programme names Haartsen as the inventor of Bluetooth, a dated institutional indication that he was alive in 2026.