Despite claims that Britain doesn't make anything anymore, the last 50 years have actually seen a wealth of incredible inventions, including some to help during the current coronavirus pandemic. Click or scroll through as we take a look at some of the most exciting British innovations from modern times.

The UK and America share the credits for the emergence of punk, many bands getting their start in UK pubs from 1972. The Sex Pistols and the Clash revolutionised music and style – despite broadcasters refusing to play many of their records – and inspired future bands including Nirvana, Green Day, Offspring and Blink 182.

The word balti appears in Urdu and Bengali, means bucket, and came from Portuguese travellers in the 16th century. But the balti curry was invented in 1971 or 1977 and although the dates are disputed, it is generally attributed to Pakistani restaurants in Birmingham. The city even has a district of restaurants known as the 'Balti Triangle'.

Somewhat slower, but a lifesaver for many commuters, the folding bicycle was made popular by Brompton Bicycles, founded by Andrew Ritchie in 1976. Although folding bikes have been around for over 100 years, only since the 1980s have they become light enough to become popular.

Vine-jumping has been carried out for generations in Vanuatu, but the first jump using a modern elastic rope system took place on Bristol's Clifton Suspension bridge in 1979. David Kirke, Simon Keeling and Geoff Tabin were members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club and had been inspired by vine-jumping.

Discover the historic secrets of the world's best inventions

The invention of digital audio player – a forerunner for the MP3 player – was a triumph of innovation, but a failure of British business. Kane Kramer filed for a patent for IXI in 1981: it had an LCD screen, navigation and volume buttons and had a memory chip. Five working prototypes were made in 1986, with Sir Paul McCartney an investor, but in 1988 a boardroom dispute and failure to renew the patent led it to lapse.

James Dyson's use of cyclonic separation has not only saved people money on vacuum dust bags but also meant their machines lasted longer. The G-Force cleaner was launched in 1983 and Dyson had to create his own manufacturing company to build it.

Now read more about James Dyson: the billionaire who cleaned up by reinventing the vacuum cleaner

Although it may sound technical, DNA profiling has given police a huge advantage in solving crimes. British geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys (pictured) developed the process in 1984 at the University of Leicester; the first successful identification and prosecution using the technique took place in the city four years later.

Remember the days before smartphones? The first Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) computer was British. The Psion Organiser was launched in 1984 by London-headquartered technology company Psion. For the first time you could record an address, or search for one, on a pocket-sized computer. However, PDAs started to be discontinued in the 2010s following the advent of smartphones.

ARM technology is behind many of today's smartphones. The company, which was founded in Cambridge in 1990, provides the technology for central processing units (CPUs) that power mobile phones and computers, although it doesn't actually build microchips itself. It was bought by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank for £24 billion in 2016.

Did the ball cross the line? Prior to Hawk-Eye's invention in 1991, no one knew for sure. The technology, developed by Paul Hawkins, uses six or seven cameras to work out a ball's position to 3.6mm. First used for cricket coverage, it is now used in tennis and for goal-line technology in football.

Neither this article, nor Facebook, Amazon or Netflix would exist without the World Wide Web, released by Londoner Sir Tim Berners-Lee (pictured right) in 1991. Although computers had previously been linked to each other, this was the first web browser ever created and it generated a virtual space for websites to be built – including the Queen’s.

In December 1992, Reading-based engineer Neil Papworth sent the first ever SMS message, wishing his colleague Richard Jarvis ‘Merry Christmas’ via Vodafone. However, UK consumers had to wait another two years for Vodafone to roll out the service, with Swedes getting the ability to text in 1993.

Although meat substitutes have been around forever (read: vegetables), Quorn was invented by Marlow Foods in Buckinghamshire and first sold in 1993, after 10 years of evaluation. It uses mycoprotein, which is derived from a fungus, and is mixed with egg before being manufactured into shapes.

Professional swimmer and later stunt man Trevor Baylis took just 30 minutes to assemble the first prototype of the wind-up radio. In 1994 the radio was released, with the intention to help remote and disadvantaged communities in the third world get the latest news to help fight the AIDS crisis. Baylis died in March 2018.

Have you heard of Dolly the Sheep? The Midlothian resident, who lived from 1996 to 2003, was the product of the first ever successful cloning from an adult cell and had three mothers: one for the egg, another for the DNA and a third to carry the embryo. She was the only lamb that survived to adulthood from 277 attempts.

The current land speed record, a staggering 763mph – faster than the speed of sound – is held by the Thrust Supersonic Car. The vehicle was developed in the UK and driven by Royal Air Force fighter pilot Andy Green. The record hasn’t been beaten since it was set in 1997. You can see the Thrust car at the Coventry Transport Museum.

One of the most controversial and best-selling game franchises of all time, Grand Theft Auto (GTA) was created by British games developer Rockstar North. The company started in Dundee, Scotland, but by the time of GTA's release in 1997 it was based in Edinburgh. Obscure Scottish references can be spotted scattered around the landscape of games.

Almost everyone knows that Viagra was first developed for blood pressure: what’s less well known is that it was developed at Pfizer’s research centre in Sandwich, Kent. It was later tested at the Morriston Hospital in Swansea, where its exciting side-effect was first observed. It has gone on to enrich millions of marriages worldwide.

In an age where computers are wiping out jobs, its essential children learn to use computers. The Raspberry Pi is a low-cost and easily adaptable computer that helps children, including those in developing countries, learn to code. It was developed by a group of teachers, academics and computer enthusiasts in 2006, released in 2012 and costs as little as £4.65.

Travelling with kids is tough, but walking through a huge airport isn't easy for kids either. That's why Rob Law invented Trunki, a hand luggage case with wheels that kids can sit on, in 2006. After turning down a £100,000 offer on Dragon's Den, Law built up the company himself and has sold more than three million Trunkis worldwide.

Read more about the Dragons' Den rejects who went on to make millions

Although not as revolutionary as the bagless vacuum cleaner, anyone who has used a public toilet since 2006 will certainly appreciate the time-saving and hygenic abilities of Dyson's Airblade hand dryer.

When the Tangle Teezer was launched in 2007, it was touted as a miracle device for dealing with unruly locks and backed by celebrities including Emma Watson and Victoria Beckham. Yet the road to success had been a bumpy one. When the product was pitched by hairdresser Shaun Pulfrey on BBC’s Dragon’s Den in 2002, it was ridiculed as a “hair-brained” idea by the judges. Fortunately, others didn’t agree and the website received so many orders when it first launched that it crashed. 

Another Dyson entry: in 2009 it launched a bladeless fan, the Air Multiplier.

Entrepreneur James Nash pitched his idea for Cup-a-Wine in the Dragon’s Den in 2009, yet he was met with laughter and his request for £250,000 for a 25% stake of his business was rejected. Fortunately, Nash had the last laugh. The invention was picked up by M&S later in 2009, marketed as Le Froglet and has since become a familiar sight at picnics and on commuter journeys.

Graphene is the strongest material ever tested, and is 10 times stronger than steel. It was isolated and characterised by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov at the University of Manchester, and the two later won a Nobel Prize. Graphene is made of carbon and has tremendous potential for electronics as it also conducts heat and electricity.

Although it has roots in American hip hop and Jamaican dancehall, grime music is a distinctively London genre. Wiley, dubbed the ‘Godfather of Grime’, is from Bow in the East End, as is Dizzee Rascal (pictured), who was one of the first grime artists to get mainstream media attention. The genre is becoming increasingly popular in Australia and Canada.

Gene editing and 'designer cells' could be the future of medicine. In 2015, doctors from London's Great Ormond Street Hospital extracted and edited the DNA of leukaemia sufferer Layla Richards' cells to create specialised killer cells to eradicate her cancer. The treatment was successful and, while research is still in the trial stage, gene editing could provide a new way to fight cancer.

You might not notice the difference between UHD and HDR TVs, but having a hologram in your living room would be something else entirely. The BBC built a holographic TV in 2016, using an acrylic pyramid over a standard 46inch screen. Samsung patented designs for a holographic TV later that year.

Previously a staple of spy films, iris scanning has become increasingly popular, appearing on Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and at passport controls. The software behind it was developed at the University of Cambridge by John Daugman.

After his wife visited a hospital, Welsh inventor Wyn Griffiths came up with the idea of a touch-free door handle, which can be opened using an arm to minimise the risk of infection by touching door handles. By that same evening, he’d already come up with a prototype. The 3D designs for the “arm”, which can be attached to an existing door, have been distributed online and can be downloaded and printed by anyone with a 3D printer.

British office furniture company DDB has also created a device for hands-free door opening amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Hygienehook, designed by Steve Brooks, is small enough to fit in a pocket and can be easily attached to door handles. Plus it’s made from non-porous material which makes it easy to clean.

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