Four South Africans nominated for Innovation Prize
What do an environmentally friendly minicab, a water distillation system and a fire alert detector have in common? They all represent outstanding innovation talent across Africa, and have been nominated for the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) award this year.
The IPA was launched in 2011. It rewards innovators for their home-grown, market- led innovations that contribute to Africa’s growth, development and prosperity.
South African nominees
Four out of the 10 nominees this year are South African innovations.
David Gluckman has been nominated for his Lumkani fire detection service, an off- the-shelf device that uses radio frequency transmission technology suitable for informal dwellings.
In the event of a fire, the device triggers an alarm to alert the residents. Within 20 seconds, the device transmits a signal that sets off heat detectors in a 60m radius to elicit a community-wide response to the fire.
This device prevents fires from ravaging high population density communities and boosts community mobilisation efforts.
Johann Pierre Kok, has been nominated for his scientific engineering educational box, Seebox. It allows children to enjoy a practical and experimental way of learning the sciences and electronics. It addresses the shortage of electronic and scientific professionals, and gives children the opportunity to learn first-hand the principles of science and electronics by building, measuring and experimenting.
Lesley Erica Scott has been nominated for Smartspot TBcheck. It examines the accuracy of machines used to detect TB diagnosis. They are designed to assess whether these machines are functioning optimally and will make diagnosing TB far easier.
The device is expected to help curb the TB epidemic in Africa, where the disease is second only to HIV and Aids as a leading cause of death.
Neil du Preez has been nominated for Mellowcabs, an environmentally friendly taxi service. It uses a suite of technologies that includes recovering the kinetic energy that is typically lost in the braking process, converting it into electricity and storing it.
Associated innovations include hydrogen fuelled Mellowcabs, adaptable, renewable body shells and an app to book taxi rides that can be paid for with cash or credit.
Source: SouthAfrican.info