Peratech

Pera

tech

Case

stu

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A cAse study of best prActice in the integrAtion of mAteriAls technology And design to improve innovAtion

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peratech limited is an award winning

company established in the north of

england to develop and exploit Qtc™

– an innovative electrically conductive

material that has pressure switching and

sensing capabilities for use in products

from sportswear to power tools. peratech

has taken a highly entrepreneurial

approach to product development, and

is an active collaborator with university

physicists, product and textile designers,

government agencies and European

Union research programmes, as this

InnoMatNet case study demonstrates.

Consortium

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best prActice in mAteriAls And design best prActice in mAteriAls And design

“If I was starting now, the first thing I’d

do is find out (via the internet) who can

help in the region? Having a local Regional

Technology Centre in Sunderland was a big

thing for Peratech.”

david Lussey

daVid Lussey David Lussey is the founder and Chief

Technology Officer of Peratech. He

previously spent 30 years in the Royal Air

Force, where he developed an aptitude

for invention, learnt about science and

electronics, and eventually became a

specialist instructor.

David attributes his curiosity and

willingness to talk to anyone who might

help – a key feature of Peratech’s success

– to his Air force experience of tackling

continual challenges – from running fire

stations to organising air defences. His

philosophy is that “the answers are there,

all you’ve got to do is find them!”

newcastle upon tyne

sunderland

Bradford

richmond

darlington

durham

a1 (m)

Leeds

york

Harrogate

northallerton

Hartlepool

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best prActice in mAteriAls And design

earLy eXPerimentationAfter the Air Force, David started a

security business and in 1995/6 a

commission from teesside university

to improve computer security led to a

chance discovery and eventually the

founding of Peratech.

In experimenting with home-made

adhesives for ‘sticky’ conductive pads

used in an electronic tagging alarm

system, he discovered that one mixture

had a very curious and counter-intuitive

behaviour – it only became conductive

and dropped resistance when pulled or

stretched. Ironically, it wasn’t suitable for

a security tag since it worked in exactly the

opposite way to the design specification!

A B C DPULL/STRETCH or TWISTBEND GESTURE & PRESSPRESS/PUSH/COMPRESS

A B C DPULL/STRETCH or TWISTBEND GESTURE & PRESSPRESS/PUSH/COMPRESS

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seeKinG HeLPDavid was intrigued and with his

electronic engineer son Chris Lussey (now

Peratech’s CEO) could see the commercial

potential of this strange new material

which seemed capable of changing from

being a true insulator to a true conductor.

They realised that they needed scientific

verification as to how novel it really was.

they approached the regional technology

Centre (RTC) in Sunderland, UK, which

was promoted by the government as

an important local source of knowledge

for business start-ups. RTC staff were

supportive and made crucial introductions

to the university research sector.

professor david bloor of the condensed

Matter Physics department at Durham

university was immediately fascinated

by the material’s dramatic conductivity

variation. Unusually at the time, he was

willing to help on a zero fee basis as the

University was promoting support for local

industry. He could also see the research

publishing potential for the University.

the electrical graph he drew led to

the first of more than100 patents, 4

government funded SMART Awards and

a continuing programme of student and

PhD research at Durham.

As David Lussey says, “I love it when a

Professor’s eyes light up, because that

always tells you you‘ve got something

that’s different!” He adds “all these little

steps and verifications, and people who

believed in it were so necessary to give

birth to the company and make it flourish.

Without this underpinning research

Peratech would not be where it is today.”

Durham University

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VaLue oF aWard sCHemesProfessor Bloor’s scientific verification

was certainly key to Peratech’s

successful first application to the ‘Small

firms’ Merit Award for Research and

Technology’ (SMART) scheme run by

the then UK Department of Trade and

Industry to encourage commercial

exploitation of innovation.

A government scientist checking the

application had initially expressed

doubts over the claimed properties of

Quantum Tunnel Composite (QTC) as it

was by then known.

However, the research had established

that it wasn’t just the substance’s

chemical formulation, it was to do with

the way david mixed the materials in a

polythene mortar and pestle, whereby

all the shear forces were dramatically

reduced and the shape of the particle

was maintained at the sub-micron level

that was crucial.

With Durham University’s support,

peratech embarked on a lengthy

programme of r&d to make the

material’s unique properties repeatable

at an industrial scale. Various forms

of the material were discovered in this

period, including a powder version with

radio frequency properties which would

eventually lead to coatings and ink

applications.

Building on their SMART awards, they

were successful in winning several EPSRC

funded Collaborative Awards in Science

and Engineering (CASE). This meant that

if Peratech contributed 1/3rd of the cost

of a University PhD student, Government

would fund the balance of 2/3rds to

enable research and development of

the technology. Since its start, Peratech

has had 4 CASE students at Durham

University. Presently, there is a Peratech

CASE student at Durham University, Leeds

university and london college of fashion.

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VaLue oF aWard sCHemesDuring this experimental phase, the

realisation dawned among the Peratech

founders that design input was needed

to create real world products utilising

QTC-enhanced materials which would

interest potential business partners

and consumers, not just technologists

and scientists

As David Lussey says, “I was talking

to people at Durham University and

the regional technology centre who

appreciated that design and technology

were inseparable, and that design

often should lead the technology.”

david also became involved with the

Design Council which saw Peratech as

champions for design, and won several

Design Council awards which lent the

company a valuable publicity platform.

Design demonstratorsPeratech decided to put effort into

using design as method of creating new

applications for QTC, and became adept

at making eye-catching demonstrators.

For example, by coating a textile it

was possible to generate a pressure-

sensitive signal, and this was used to

create a textile piano keyboard that

could be rolled up around a loudspeaker

and electronics. This caught the public

imagination and, despite the still small

scale of the company, they joined

Rolls Royce and other major brands in

winning a Millennium Products Prize.

Furthermore, the $100,000 Saatchi

Global Communications Prize was

awarded to peratech at a ceremony in

New York, also in 2000.

Bluetooth/USB QWERTY fabric keyboard

Allows easier data entry in handhelds, smartphones, umpcs, control PC or

entertainment console based applications (e.g. internet, music, movies). Can be folded

or rolled up when not in use – compact and portable. For low cost, non mechanical

buttons. Gesture controls can easily be added for hot keys or shortcuts, e.g. volume,

playback controls, screen scroll.

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Design-leD entrePreneursHiPEco Data ToolsClothing was an early design application

for ‘clever’ use of QTC, and after

making a space suit and a glove

which won the MOMA Award (2000),

another opportunity for Peratech’s

entrepreneurship arose in 2002.

Apple founder Steve Jobs had spotted

a ski jacket incorporating smart buttons

to control a sony minidisc player in

the pocket. Impressed, Jobs advised a

friend who made Burton Snowboard

Wearable applications for military, industrial, sports or consumer products

QTC™ Material sensor provides a flexible control interface for hi-vis garment, allowing

the wearer to select which part of the garment to illuminate for optimum safety.

Playback buttons on sleeve to control music/mobile device without any contact

with device.Clothing to order 1000 jackets for the

new Apple i-pods.

peratech started a new company

‘SoftSwitch’ on the back of the order,

the addition of QTC component strips

considerably boosting the market value

of the jackets, and inspiring other

manufacturers. Their partners were the

Wool Research Organisation of New

Zealand who had been looking for new

applications of textiles.

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the company employed two experienced

clothing designers who created the

finished product but had to learn how

to coat QTC onto textiles, and initially

had difficulty understanding some of

the electronic technicalities. However,

because the designers, technologists

and marketeers had the common aim

of creating unique, successful products,

working together became easy and made

the partnership work.

Peratech next thought of using QTC

in household goods. Once again, the

regional technology centre played an

important role by introducing a very

creative and technically aware product

design consultancy to the company.

they collaborated on a range of

squeeze-controlled power tools, which

attracted another SMART award.

the company now employs two

designers in-house, whose primary role

is to improve the integration of product/

user experience design and technical

engineering design.

QTC™ Material sensor uses hand pressure as switch and variable speed control of drill

QTC™ Material ‘dead-man’ safety switch used as safety feature on chainsaw. Saw

activates when both hands are griping the handle areas ambedded with QTC™ Material.

HoW GoVernment initiatiVes HaVe HeLPedPeratech attribute a lot of their early

and continuing success to active

engagement with regional, national and

European support agencies.

Localregional technology centre provided key

early introductions to universities and

designers, and was regularly consulted

for technical and commercial advice.

NationalFor Peratech, participation in UK

Government-backed Knowledge Transfer

Networks (KTNs) – covering everything

from Textiles to Nanotechnology,

electronics and sensors – enables them

to “acutely listen” to what everybody

else in the connectivity and plastic

electronics sector is doing – e.g the

latest touch screens or transparent

conductors – as part of a deliberate

and continual process of absorbing

knowledge in order to move forward.

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NicheTechnologyProviders

Trade & Professional

Bodies

SkillsBodies General Capability

Providers

Advisory Bodies Early Technology Providers

Perarech staff have served on a British

Standards Committee, and have been

researching how to make Qtc materials

printable using facilities and conductive

inks at the centre for process

Innovation (CPI) – Part of the High Value

Manufacturing Catapult. They see this

as part of an imperative to “update

and progress” existing industries all

over the eu.

They also see a marketing value in

telling everybody else what they’re

doing – “drum banging” as David put it

– and responding to KTN research calls.

this gets peratech closer to the large

companies who also interact with KTNs,

and who routinely read the academic

research papers when they take interest

in a new development. Hence Peratech’s

active involvement with university

publishing helps build their credibility.

European & InternationalDue to its innovative profile, Peratech

is regularly approached to take part

in EU research projects, and recently

participated in a Framework 6 project on

combining carbon nanotube with textiles

to create sensor mechanisms. the

company’s specialist technical knowledge

enabled them to take a lead role and

benefit from the PR opportunity.

Peratech frequently attend and speak at

plastic/electronics industry exhibitions

and events in Europe and the USA,

including some which are linked to UK

government funding calls.

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inteLLeCtuaL ProPerty ProteCtionDavid Lussey’s Royal Air Force

experience had made him very aware

of the importance of building trust with

people, but also securing Intellectual

Property protection (IPR) very early on.

He found a retired ex ICI patent agent

who established the basis for all the

company’s patents, and recognises that

without this Peratech could have been

very vulnerable due to its small size.

The company now employs an in-house

lawyer to protect ipr on behalf of the

shareholders, and invests £120,000

annually on worldwide patents renewals.

Negotiating appropriate IP arrangements

has been particularly important to

the success of Peratech’s work with

universities, which is focused on original,

fundamental science rather than

immediate commercial application.

SOFTWARE/ELECTRONICS

UPPER

QTC PRESSURE SENSOR

INSERT

MIDSOLE

OUTERSOLE

Blood pressure cuff with QTC™ Material tension sensor

Helps reduce inaccurate readings from improper cuff attachment. When the cuff is

being applied to the patient or self applied, the device automatically indicates when

the proper amount of tension in the cuff has been reached.

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The relationship with Durham is long-

standing and with clear mutual benefits,

though projects are carefully selected to

avoid IP complications. It has featured

over 150 3rd year physics students

conducting materials research in groups

of 3-5, with privileged access to Peratech’s

facilities and expertise, including feedback

on the results of their experiments.

Collaborations with other institutions

have taken place against a background

of increased need for universities

to generate income from research,

often via IP. Peratech have, however,

been able to retain ownership of ip in

recognition of the access they provided

to novel materials and of their funding

of PhD students. So far, however, it has

proved more difficult to engage with

design faculties where IP rights may

automatically accrue to the inventor.

oPen innoVation & eduCationaL CoLLaBorationsDavid Lussey is a big fan of ”getting

people fired up” about technology and

potential applications. ”We can’t think of

everything” he says, “let’s get it into the

hands of designers and engineers”.

As a result of this philosophy samples of

Qtc have been made widely available

via consumer electronics stores and local

education authorities in the UK, while

staff regularly give talks in UK schools

promoting a practical, hands-on interest

in understanding how science can be

applied in the real world.

These are often illustrated by smart ski

jackets and other ‘name brand’ products

which spark enthusiasm and curiosity

among the pupils.

Their longstanding relationship with

academia appears to have served

peratech extremely well and for the

future David Lussey feels there’s a “great

reason to make sure we promote this

side of things for all parties involved”.

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Best practice in materials and design Best practice in materials and design

disCLaimerthis report forms part of the

deliverables from the innomatnet

project which has received funding from

the European Commission’s Seventh

Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013

under grant agreement n° 290583. The

report reflects only the authors’ views

and the European Commission is not

liable for any use that might be made of

the content of this publication.

The project runs from the 1 April 2012

to 30 September 2014. It involves

eleven partners and is coordinated by

Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI).

More information on the project can be

found at www.innomatnet.eu

The lead contractor for the case studies

was InnoMatNet consortium partner

the Institute of Materials, Minerals

and Mining, with delivery through

the materials and design exchange

(MaDE), a group within the UK Materials

Knowledge Transfer Network.

www.iom3.org.uk

www.materialsktn.net/made

© innomatnet 2013 Images pp. 2, 5, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21 © Peratech

We are grateful to the following individuals and organisations for their contribution to the InnoMatNet case studies: david Lussey, Peratech

Case study suggestions taken from the InnoMatNet survey. Reviewed by: Claire Claessen and John Conti-Ramsden, Chemistry Innovation KTNJohn Bound, The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (MaDE, Materials KTN)

Research & editing: John Bound, The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (MaDE, Materials KTN)

Graphic design: Lara Collins, The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining

aCKnoWLedGements

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Best practice in materials and design

ContaCt

Peratech Limited

Old Repeater Station

851 Gatherley Road

brompton on swale

richmond

North Yorkshire, DL10 7JH

t +44 (0) 1748 813670

www.peratech.com

Documents

Peratech