How CSIR innovation is transforming South African industries

The CSIR is doing great work alongside its private and public sector partners, and is a key player in the re-industrialisation of South Africa.

This is proven by the drastic rise in the number of recorded technology demonstrators (solutions nearly ready for commercialisation) and license agreements (solutions ready for commercialisation) over the past three years.

• Click here to learn how you can partner with the CSIR.

At a media roundtable in Pretoria, CSIR CEO Dr Thulani Dlamini unpacked several exciting projects that the CSIR has worked on over the past year.

• These projects all align with the CSIR’s strategy of using science and technology to contribute to the industrial development in the country

We have highlighted several of these exciting projects below.

Precision farming

The CSIR has partnered with FarmSol Holdings – an SAB partner and agricultural services company – to help it digitally transform its maize farming extension services.

This is achieved using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), satellite technologies, and big data analytics.

The CSIR continues to work on a precision agriculture information system that optimises input costs, surveys pests and diseases, and predicts yields.

This will help emerging farmers make better decisions that help them yield better crops.

Mining machinery optimisation

The CSIR has developed a digital twin to simulate and optimise trackless mobile machinery operations in mines.

This is complemented by collision avoidance systems that the CSIR has designed and configured for mining use.

The CSIR can predict how effective vehicle interaction controls are, identify high-risk accident areas, and determine how effective risk mitigation controls are.

This project has received funding from the Department of Science and Innovation, the Minerals Council of South Africa, and the Mandela Mining Precinct.

Improved fingerprint device to recognise criminals

The CSIR developed a custom handheld fingerprint device that the Department of Correctional Services uses for offender recognition.

This battery-powered device uses CSIR technology to identify an offender between their conviction and their admission to a correctional facility, as well as for rollcall during their imprisonment.

The device compares an image of the fingerprint to those stored in the Department of Correctional Services’ database – and can also be used by traffic officials to compare motorists’ fingerprints to those on their driver’s licences.

PotholeFixGP

The CSIR worked with the Gauteng Department of Roads to develop a mobile application that lets users identify and report potholes within the province.

PotholeFixGP is available for on the Google Play Store and can be used for free by the public.

It also includes a public dashboard with information about potholes that have been reported – such as the status of the repair.

The app has been downloaded over 5,000 times and authorities have already been alerted to over 2,000 potholes.

Click here to learn how you can partner with the CSIR.