Today I visited the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) first Innovation Showcase. The event held at the Bellville campus in Cape Town is the result of a number of years of work by Prof Gary Atkinson-Hope and Chris Lombard.
Exhibiting at the showcase were 38 projects run by both students and staff across the two CPUT campuses. Three projects caught my eye and I got to chat with the students involved in their development.
The Lumons is a set of three lights that are remotely charged whilst on their styled wooden stand and can then be carried around the home or office at night during load shedding. There is zero risk of fire or electrocution, and this product looks like it belongs in a style magazine for upmarket homes.
The second product is one of those that we only realise we need when it is too late to invent it. The Snugpack is a small portable bag that fits over your backpack and gives you a safe and secure time to catch a nap during long trips, airport layovers. The team behind this product has turned experienced pain into a profitable and very clever product.
The third product is one that gave me that “Why didn’t I think of this” feeling. The portable photogrphy studio named the SOOC (Straight-Out-Of-Camera) offers the photographer a very high spec portable light box with LED lights and infinity screen for staging and photographing small to medium items.
Other products of interest were the Dryway, a clever folding clothes dryer. The Pivot offering a clever way to keep your keys safe and secure. And finally the TBT or The Braai Tool a clever well engineered braai tool that is sure to put a smile on every man’s face at the next national braai day.
Well done to all the students and staff of CPUT for their innovations, imaginations and development efforts. The state of our young minds in South Africa is encouraging.
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