The men behind South Africa’s best tech inventions

South Africa is the birthplace of several noteworthy technological breakthroughs and gadgets that are used globally.

The world’s pools might have been far dirtier for much longer or at least remained a massive hassle to clean were it not for hydraulics engineer Ferdinand Chauvier, the co-inventor of the Kreepy Krauly.

With barely a penny to his name, Chauvier brought his family from Belgian Congo to South Africa in 1951.

He leveraged is experience and skills in hydraulics while working at a service station in Springs in Gauteng.

Chauvier’s son Daniel became a door-to-door salesman of pool equipment and chemicals a few years after the family arrived in South Africa.

Daniel quickly learnt that many people detested their pools due to the labour involved in keeping them clean.

He discussed the idea of an automatic pool cleaner with his father and the pair devised their first prototype in 1974, made from wood and rubber tubing.

The suction cleaner relied on existing pool pumps, which meant no additional power was required.

It effectively functioned like an underwater vacuum and was able to move by itself by alternately closing off one of two suction tubes, causing a small “hop” as the suction was released for a short period.

Daniel and his father tested several of the prototypes with pool owners, who did not want to give the prototypes back after testing.

By 1978, the Chauviers’ sales of the “Kreepy Krauly” reached a level where they could cover the costs of plastic injection moulding, resulting in the Kreepy Krauly Mark I.

While there have been some improvements in functionality over the years, not all that much has changed from the original design.

By the time Chauvier died in 1985, the Kreepy Krauly was cleaning a million pools worldwide. His son continued the operation and sold the rights to US company Pentair in 1999.

CT scan — co-invented by Allan Cormack

Several other widely used inventions were born in South Africa or invented by South Africans.

Johannesburg-born Allan MacLeod Cormack developed the theoretical underpinnings of Computed Axial Tomography scans, commonly known as CT or CAT scans.

CT scans can show detailed images of any part of the body, which can be used to diagnose numerous health conditions and injuries.

Cormack obtained a BSc in Physics and MSc in crystallography from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1944 and 1945, respectively.

Although he was admitted to Cambridge University to study for his PhD, he never completed his degree and after marrying American Barbara Seavey, the couple came to South Africa, where Cormack started lecturing at UCT.

After a sabbatical at Harvard, Cormack and his wife moved to the US, where he became a professor at Tufts University.

While his primary work was in the field of particle physics, his side interest in X-ray technology led him to devise the theoretical underpinnings of CAT scans.

His findings were published in the Journal of Applied Physics in 1963 and 1964 but it was only until British electrical engineer Godfrey Hounsfield applied Cormack’s theoretical calculations into application and built the world’s first CT scanner in 1971.

Cormack was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside Hounsfield for their work on X-ray computed tomography.

The achievement was considered significant and unusual because Cormack did not hold a doctoral degree.

Radar-based speed gun — Henri Johnson

Somerset West local Henri Johnson introduced the world’s first radar-based speed gun in 1992.

Johnson initially built projects for the SA Navy using sonar technology.

He later developed radar technology able to measure the speed and trajectory of projectiles in flight, which would be adopted by militaries in dozens of countries.

Johnson realised that the invention had an application in sports and founded an engineering company called Electronic Development House (EDH) in 1989 to commercialise the system.

The “Speed Gun” was launched in 1992 and could accurately measure the speed and angles of fast-moving objects like cricket or tennis balls.

He developed the SpeedBall specifically for measuring cricket ball speeds in flight. It was officially launched at the 1999 Cricket World Cup.

In subsequent years, he used technology to create the RaquetRadar for measuring tennis players’ serving speeds, followed by the FlightScope, used to track the movement of golf balls in three dimensions.

These technologies are widely used, and Johnson’s company is also an accredited supplier to Armscor and defence procurement agencies in several countries.

Online ticket booking system — Percy Tucker

Benoni not only delivered South Africa’s first Oscar-winning actress but was also the birthplace of a pioneer in entertainment booking systems.

Percy Tucker was exposed to theatre entertainment from an early age, with his family’s home across from the Benoni Town Hall.

At ten years old, he rented out his family home’s lounge suite to a touring theatre company, for which they received tickets in exchange.

After completing his schooling at Benoni High School, he obtained a B.Com degree from Wits University.

In 1942, he began working as part of the backstage crew at the East Rand Theatre Club, where he would later be promoted to stage manager.

Tucker opened South Africa’s first professional theatre office and centralised ticket booking agency — Show Service — in Johannesburg in 1954.

In 1969, Tucker went to the US to explore computerised methods for handling inventory. He and several investors bought software for the ticketing system and an IBM System/360 Model 50 computer.

In 1971, Tucker launched Computicket, the world’s first fully-fledged and functional computerised, centralised ticket booking system.

Tucker served as Computicket CEO until 1994. He died in January 2021, at the age of 92, due to complications from Covid-19.

Other noteworthy South African inventions or breakthroughs

• Dolosse —These oddly shaped tetrapod concrete structures were devised in East London by either Eric Mowbray Merrifield or Aubrey Kruger in 1963 and are used around the world to dissipate waves and protect coasts against erosion.
• Cheap thin-film solar panels — Former University of Johannesburg professor Vivian Alberts developed a thin-film solar module which can be made from basic raw materials, significantly reducing manufacturing costs.
• Commercialisation of coal-to-oil liquefaction — While it did not invent the technique, Sasol built the world’s first large-scale CTO plant and proved it was commercially viable to make oil and transport fuel from coal.
• Pratley Putty — The versatile epoxy putty adhesive was invented by George Momtaque Pratley and chemist Frank Robinson. In addition to its widespread use in construction, the putty was used on NASA’s Ranger spacecraft, which took the first close-up images of the Moon’s surface.