Lou Ottens, inventor of cassette tapes, dies at 94

The cassette tape was introduced in 1963 at the Berlin Radio electronics fair

Lou Ottens, the Dutch engineer behind the creation of the widely-used audio cassette tapes, passed away at 94 at his home in Duizel in Brabant, Dutch media has reported.

Born in 1926, Ottens had an interest in technology at an early age and built a radio to secretly listen to a programme called "Radio Oranje" during the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II.

After the war, Ottens studied engineering and joined Philips in 1952 and became the company's head of product development in 1960.

Ottens sought to provide an answer to the 'clunky' reel-to-reel audio tapes, and in 1963, he and his team introduced the cassette tape at the Berlin radio electronics fare.

The tapes, which earned fast popularity, were recreated by the Japanese, leading to Ottens striking a deal with Sony to use Philips' technology, bringing to the world the standard cassette tape known today.

Since its inception, over 100 billion cassette tapes have been sold worldwide.

Ottens was also responsible for the creation of the compact disc in 1982, which overshot the popularity of the cassette tapes, selling over 200 units.

Ottens retired in 1986, having permanently changed the way the world listened to music. However, in an interview with Dutch media outlet NRC, Ottens said that he held no pride in his work, saying that both the cassette and the CD were made by a team, not him.

He, however, said that he regretted the fact that Sony created the "Walkman" and not Philips, and said that the resurgent popularity of the cassette seen in the last few years was "nonsense" and that "nothing can match the sound of the CD".