Inventions and inventors

Croatia is considered the home of many inventions which have transformed human existence, several of which are used in everyday life.

1617: the parachute. The polymath, inventor, philosopher and lexicographer Faust Vrančić (1551–1617) was the first person to stretch fabric over a wooden frame to make a parachute, allegedly tested by jumping from a tower in Venice. He described it in detail, along with 56 more inventions, in his work New Machines, and called the parachute Homo volans (Flying Man). He also published a Dictionary of the Five Most Noble European Languages in 1595, the first dictionary printed in Croatia.

1861: the torpedo. The naval officer and inventor Ivan Blaž Lupis (1813–75) built a prototype of an explosive weapon which could be used to attack enemy ships in 1861. After signing a contract with Lupis, a factory in Rijeka developed his invention and was the first in the world to begin mass production of torpedoes similar to those used today. The technical solutions of the Rijeka torpedo are used today for peaceful purposes.

Homo volans (Flying Man) by Faust Vrančić
Peter Salcher
Torpedo factory in Rijeka, around 1905

1887: 'supersonic' photography. Peter Salcher (1848–1928) was a professor of physics at the Naval Academy in Rijeka. He was the first person in the world to produce ultrafast photography, used to track the trajectory of a rifle bullet in flight.

1891: dactyloscopy. Ivan Vučetić (1858–1925) was a criminalist who emigrated to Argentina in 1884, where he was employed in the police force. He was one of the founders of dactyloscopy and invented a system for classifying fingerprints which he applied in solving criminal cases.

1897: the airship. The Croatian aviation architect of Hungarian origin, David Schwarz (1850–97), made the first steerable airship with a metal frame. Due to his sudden death, the credit for the invention went to Ferdinand Zeppelin, who built his airship on the basis of Schwarz's project.

1904: the tungsten light bulb. The chemist and metallurgist Franjo Hanaman (1878–1941) developed a process for manufacturing tungsten filaments and their application in electric light bulbs, with Alexander Just, in Vienna.

Ivan Vučetić
Slavoljub Penkala
Mario Puratić's mechanical power block

1906: the ballpoint pen. The Croatian inventor of Polish origin, Slavoljub Penkala (1871–1922), patented many inventions which are still used today. The most famous was his ballpoint pen, which the Penkala factory sold in around 70 countries. He also invented the thermos flask, the rotating toothbrush, and many more devices. He built the first aeroplane in Croatia in 1910 and is considered the father of modern aircraft.

1954: the Puratić power block. Mario Puratić (1904–93) emigrated to the USA in 1929, where he invented a power block to help haul fishing nets out of the sea and on board vessels. His invention has been applied in all the world's fishing fleets.

1981: the antibiotic azithromycin. A group of scientists from the research institute of the Pliva pharmaceutical company synthesised and patented azithromycin, a new type of wide-spectrum antibiotic which could stay in the body for long periods. This is an active ingredient in the drug known as Sumamed in Croatia, while the American company Pfizer sells it under licence as Zithromax and the Czech comnpany Zentiva as Azitrox.

Integration of science, innovation and industry

Creative Croatian inventors, a century-old tradition of university engineering education and science, and a favourable entrepreneurial climate and conditions, much invigorated by Croatia's inclusion in European integration flows, have recently contributed to the implementation of ideas and projects in the field of high technology. An ever increasing number of Croatian scientific centres, companies and their innovations have become recognisable throughout the world.

MVD-XLP Dozer, a remote-controlled vehicle for underground mining, manufactured at the Zagreb-based Dok-Ing company for the development and fabrication of robotic equipment, machines and demining, firefighting and mining systems.
RONNA, a robot designed to assist during neurosurgical operations, was developed at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Zagreb, in cooperation with the Dubrava Clinical Hospital Centre and with the financial support of the Croatian Agency for Small Business, Innovation and Investment.
High-speed motorised spindle with a linear drive unit by the Zadar-based HSTEC company, which develops, designs and manufactures special machine tools and other products in the field of industrial automation and robotics.
Ivan Mrvoš, of Solin, started the production of the innovative high technology 'smart bench' as part of urban furnishings and in 2019, Forbes Magazine included him on the list of 30 best young entrepreneurs in the manufacturing and industry category.
Amphinicy Technologies from Zagreb is one of the leading world manufacturers of software for satellite companies and operators, equipment manufacturers and broadband service providers.
The Sisak-based Applied Ceramics factory has developed the production of semiconductor, ceramic and other parts from crystalline materials of exceptional purity and very high precision in order to meet the particular needs of clients from the high technology industry.