Asha Peta Thompson

Asha Peta-Thompson is a British entrepreneur and textile designer. She is the co-founder and director of Intelligent Textiles, who create wearable technology including e-uniforms for infantry.

Asha Peta-Thompson
Alma materBirmingham City University
Central Saint Martins
EmployerBrunel University London
Intelligent Textiles Limited
Known forInventing smart textiles
Wearable technology

Early life and education

Peta-Thompson studied fashion at Birmingham City University. She enjoyed crochet and knitting. She joined Central Saint Martins for a master's degree in textile design.[1] She worked with a special needs school to develop textiles that could be used to support children with autism.[2][3] She developed a wheelchair cover with textile pressure sensors that could prevent pressure sores.[4]

Career

Peta-Thompson develops electronic textiles.[5][6][7] In 2002 she joined Brunel University London as a research fellow working on products for people with disabilities. Peta-Thomspon was based in the Brunel Design for Life Centre, where she began to work with industrial design lecturer Stanley Swallow.[8] Together the pair developed a Talking Waistcoat, which included fabric sensors, for people suffering from cerebral palsy.[2] Peta-Thompson was not convinced by the bulky electronic devices that people with cerebral palsy had previously used, and began to explore conductive thread.[9] The waistcoat included sensors that allowed people with cerebral palsy to access computers. Whilst demonstrating their product at a European trade show, Peta-Thompson and Swallow met Australian Wool Innovation, who were interested in working with organisations that could use Australian wool.[8][10] They began to manufacture conductive fabrics using a weaving mill that belonged to John Lewis & Partners.[8] In 2002 they formed a spin-out company Intelligent Textiles Limited.[2][11] Intelligent Textiles Limited has partnered with Lincoln Fabrics, a Canadian factory, as well as a weavers in Lancashire to manufacture their materials.[8] At first they operated out of a small studio in London, working with a clothing company to integrate an MP3 player into a jacket.[2]

Peta-Thompson learnt that soldiers have to carry over 60 AA batteries and often suffer from tangled charging cables.[12] Instead, Intelligent Textiles Limited looked to develop electronic textiles that could be retro-fitted into military uniform.[13] They own over 17 patents and several trademarks.[14][15] Limited Peta-Thompson pitched their idea, Broadsword, to the Canadian Armed Forces.[16] The United States Army and United States Marine Corps also became interested.[16] They were supported by BAE Systems and the Centre for Defence Enterprise.[8][9] Their e-uniforms significantly reduce the weight carried by infantry, and went into trials in 2015.[17][18]

She has appeared on The Bottom Line and BBC Woman's Hour.[19][20]

References
  1. "Intelligent Textiles: how solutions find their problems - Intellectual Property Office blog". ipo.blog.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  2. "Digitize Your Clothes: Look Smart in Intelligent Textiles". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  3. "Innovation: Let's hear it for the girls". MPA Group. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  4. Kettley, Sarah (2016-07-14). Designing with Smart Textiles. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781472569158.
  5. Ion, Dame Sue (2015-04-13). "Where are all the female innovators?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  6. Thompson, Asha Peta; Swallow, Stan S. (2001). "Sensory Fabric for Ubiquitous Interfaces". International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. 13 (2): 147–159. doi:10.1207/S15327590IJHC1302_4. S2CID 14936457.
  7. Lee, Tommy. "Starting smart with e-textiles". T.EVO News. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  8. "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  9. Innovate UK (2014-09-09), Intelligent Textiles - reducing the weight burden of soldiers, retrieved 2019-02-21
  10. "Warm reception for seriously smart yarn". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2003-05-24. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  11. Geczy, Adam; Karaminas, Vicki (2018-11-01). The End of Fashion: Clothing and Dress in the Age of Globalization. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350045064.
  12. "Stuff Talks #3 – the knitter who's creating military-level wearable tech". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  13. Tyler, Richard (2011-01-24). "Small firms pioneer military technology". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  14. www.technicaltextile.net. "Intelligent Textiles, Fabric Technology, Smart Use of fabrics". www.technicaltextile.net. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  15. "Asha Peta-Thompson Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  16. "Smart fabrics for 21st century Soldiers". The Manufacturer. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  17. Curtis, Sophie (2014-03-07). "Wearable tech: the small British companies taking on Samsung and Google". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  18. Bearne, Suzanne (2015-08-03). "Is wearable technology set to take over our wardrobes?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  19. "The Bottom Line - Wearable technology". OpenLearn. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  20. "BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Nandi Bhebhe, Julie Burchill, Knife crime, Innovation, Lake District". BBC. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
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