Tag Archives: innovation

TshedzaApp™ scoops SAB Foundation Innovation Award

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TshedzaApp™, a one stop career app designed by a group of CPUT innovators has scooped a top prize at the SAB Foundation Innovation Awards.

A mobile app, TshedzaApp™, is a virtual career coach that allows users to interact with coaching professionals as well as find and access information on tertiary courses and bursaries in South Africa.

The team walked off with the Development Award as well as a R250 000 business support grant with coaching and mentoring.

Inventor and project leader, Mbavhalelo Mabogo, says the mobile app aims to counter the high dropout rates at tertiary institutions, by providing high school learners with correct information to ensure they make informed choices about their future.

“We are planning to channel this support wholly into product activation in 2016. This means physically going to school and getting the kids to download the app, learn to use it, so that they can spread the word,” he says.”

“Many drop out because they are in the wrong course. Others cannot apply to university because they have the wrong subject combination,” says Mabogo, who is the WIL Coordinator in the Faculty of Engineering.

By inventing TshedzaApp™, Mabogo and his team hope to combat these problems.

The mobile app has a built in career screening tool, which based on information created by the user in their profile, will list possible study options along with the universities that offer the courses.

It contains information from higher education institutions in South Africa, which includes everything from course information, requirements, to funding options.

The mobile app will also assist high school learners in choosing the right school subjects, and also allows them to interact with industry professionals in a monitored and open discussion group.

Mabogo is supported by a team of industry and academic professionals. He says the mobile app has been tested at schools in Khayelitsha and Kraaifontein and has also had a pilot run on Google Play.

TshedzaApp™ can be accessed on Google Play and is free to users.

 

Circumfort wins top medical prize

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A CPUT innovation is making headline news across South Africa.

Engineering student Musa Morgan it the proud inventor of Circumfort, a specialised male underwear developed to aid the healing process after a circumcision.

The invention recently scooped first prize in the medical category at the Gap Medical Awards 2015. And the competition was tough, with Musa competing against several medical doctors.

The underwear was developed in 2013 after Musa was circumcised. This process got him thinking about how to ease the pain and aid the healing process.

Along with his business partner Lwazi Ntshangase, Musa designed and manufactured Circumfort.

The underwear keeps the penis in an upright position, preventing downward bloodflow and seepage from the wound. This not only significantly cuts down on the healing time but assist with the prevention of infection.

Musa credits his invention’s success to all those at CPUT who supported him during the past few years, including his business partner and fellow student Lwazi Ntshangase.

“Thank you to everyone, I wish I could do more than just thank you,” says Musa.

 

 

 

TshedzaApp™ finalist in innovation competition

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TshedzaApp™, a one stop career app designed by a group of CPUT innovators has been selected to be part of the prestigious SAB Foundation Innovation Awards.

A mobile app, TshedzaApp™, is a virtual career coach that allows users to interact with coaching professionals as well as find and access information on tertiary courses and bursaries in South Africa.

The competition rewards a product or process that addresses a challenge faced in communities.

Inventor and project leader, Mbavhalelo Mabogo, says the mobile app aims to counter the high dropout rates at tertiary institutions, by providing high school learners with correct information to ensure they make informed choices about their future.

“Many drop out because they are in the wrong course. Others cannot apply to university because they have the wrong subject combination,” says Mabogo, who is the WIL Coordinator in the Faculty of Engineering.

By inventing TshedzaApp™, Mabogo and his team hope to combat these problems.

The mobile app has a built in career screening tool, which based on information created by the user in their profile, will list possible study options along with the universities that offer the courses.

It contains information from higher education institutions in South Africa, which includes everything from course information, requirements, to funding options.

The mobile app will also assist high school learners in choosing the right school subjects, and also allows them to interact with industry professionals in a monitored and open discussion group.

Mabogo is supported by a team of industry and academic professionals. He says the mobile app has been tested at schools in Khayelitsha and Kraaifontein and has also had a pilot run on Google Play.

TshedzaApp™ can be accessed on Google Play and is free to users.

*Winners of the SAB Foundation Innovation Awards will be announced at the Gala Awards Ceremony in October 2015

Sleep Easy thanks to Cohere

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Struggling to sleep at night?

Luciano Wegmershaus might just have the solution you so desperately need.

A CPUT Industrial Design alumnus, Wegmershaus has developed Cohere, an innovative product designed to help people who suffer from sleep deprivation to wind-down using biofeedback technology.

“Cohere was the result of my fourth year industrial design thesis in which I explored whether it would be possible to create a product which would be able to assist people who had difficulty with getting to sleep,” he says.

When going to bed, the user wears a device that measures their breathing and heart-rate. Specially designed imagery and audio to aid the process of winding-down are then projected into the user’s environment from a device.

The visuals and sounds then interact with the user’s breathing and heart-rate in real time to complete the experience.

Wegmershaus says this process is known as biofeedback and the product assists the sleep process by providing a supportive environment for it to take place.

This innovative product is currently at an advantaged stage of development and was also featured at the recent CPUT Innovation Showcase where it caught the eye of potential investors.

Image courtesy of Feelart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Ocean innovation pays off

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Thinking out of the box has paid off for Dirk Muller, who opted for an innovative approach to solving a problem he identified whilst working on a research project.

A staff member at the TIA Adaptronics Advanced Manufacturing Technology Laboratory, Muller has designed and manufactured a prototype coastal metocean bouy.

Bouys are deployed all along our South African coast and are used by industry and government for oceanographic and atmospheric data sampling.

The data collected is crucial for severe weather prediction, disaster management, oceanographic research and coastal management.

Whilst interning at the Bayworld Centre for Research and Education, Muller explored the current buoy system and identified a shortfall in its functionality.

Muller says currently technicians have to remove the entire buoy from the ocean for servicing with the result that crucial data cannot be collected during service periods.

To counter this problem, Muller improved the functionality of the buoys by developing an improved buoy that features a modular design to simplify the operational procedures.

Thanks to his ingenious design, technicians will be able to easily service the buoy by simply removing the electronic module and replacing it with a temporary service module.

“This design will cut service cost and will ensure that minimal data is lost,” says Muller.

The design is also sleek, has improved solar power capabilities and stability.

The buoy prototype was tested in False Bay and two upgraded buoys will be deployed for testing in August in False Bay.

Backpacking trip sparks an innovative idea

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A backpacking trip through Europe turned out to be more than just a travel adventure for Ryan Higgo.

An Industrial Design graduate, Higgo’s 2012 travels sparked an innovative idea and saw him conceptualise  Snugpack, a day pack attachment, facilitating more comfortable and safer resting comfort for backpackers in the various stages of transit.

“While taking long train trips across France, I noticed many other young people in the same situation, wanting to rest more comfortably,” he says.

Higgo says backpackers where often resting against a window with their heads covered with a top and their leg positioned through the strap of their backpack to prevent theft.

Wanting to solve this problem, Higgo opted to make it the focus of his BTech research project and conducted extensive ethnographic research into the backpacking community.

“The results pointed towards a need for a simple product that allows a more comfortable and more secure resting option while in transit,” says Higgo.

The Snugpack is wrapped around a backpack that is strapped to the front of an individual’s body, allowing the individual to slide their hands and arms into a pocket for comfortable support.

The product also features an extractable hood that can be pulled over the user’s head whilst resting as well as a cushion.

The design has been successful in its user testing stage in South Africa, England, Scotland and Ireland, and the first production run has recently been completed.

 

 

Sustainable farming unit showcased

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Word of an  invention that will allow communities to do small scale farming, especially in areas where there is little or no infrastructure and low levels of expertise, is spreading fast.

The Small Scale Modular Solar Powered Aquaponics System was invented by lecturer Fareed Ismail and was recently showcased at the Spice Mecca Radio 786 Ramadaan Expo.

Unveiled last year, the invention is proving popular with a number of organization and individuals requesting to partner with Ismail or purchase the project.

The system consists of an aquaculture unit to breed and grow fish as well as a hydroponics water filtration unit that facilitates the growth of vegetables and fruits. The invention also relies on renewable energy such as solar thermal, wind and photovoltaic energy as a power source together with a programmable control system.

“This invention will allow such sub social as well as affluent environmentally friendly communities to promote entrepreneurship, create awareness of green energy, and supply sustainable livelihoods throughout,” says Ismail.

Currently Ismail is working on improving the pilot module and has designed and manufactured various sizes of the unit, including a unit for household use.

The project has also grown, with several Engineering students assisting Ismail with the further development of the invention.

Mechanical Engineering student Busi Jantjies, who is coordinating the student team, says they are all benefiting from working on the invention.

Busi is responsible for daily data logging and for further developing the device that draws water out of the grow beds and feeds it into the fish tank, while several others are responsible for the frame, welding, electrical and solar panels.

The next step for the team is commercialization.

For more information on the project, contact: Fareed Ismail at ismailf@cput.ac.za

 

Electric Scooter is answer to transport woes

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An initiative to alleviate inner city congestion has won a R50 000 award and is set to revolutionise how people commute.

The Watt Scooter is the brainchild of Industrial Design staff and students and has already gotten the attention of Rhodes University which grapples with an over reliance on cars by its students at its Grahamstown campus.

The Watt Scooter also suits CPUT student needs with it’s’ variety of campuses spread out across the Cape Town central business district.

The electric scooter can manage weights of 125km, a range of around 20km and a top speed of 25km on a two hour charge and thanks to its sturdy wheels and upright design can confidently tackle hills.

BTech student Mikhail Wertheim Aymes who is a collaborator on the project along with lecturers Craig Finnan, Johan van Niekerk and Daryn Molenaar says Watt Scooter’s long term goal is to provide a student transport share system.

“It locks up easily like a bike and our next step is to develop docking stations which could be activated by your student card,” he says.

The Watt Scooter won the Innovation Award at Design Indaba recently and was commended for its local design and the fact that the technology is easily upgradable.

Now the team are planning on using the prize to explore docking station options.

The Watt Scooter was such a hit with Design Indaba patrons that pre-orders for it are already sold out.