Smartlife take wearable tech to next level
MANCHESTER-BASED FIRM IS APPROACHED FOR LATEST WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS
A CUTTING-edge wearable technology business is only weeks away from its first order.
City-centre based Smartlife has developed technology which can be integrated into compression garments such as bras and vests to read biometric signals.
Information like ECG, heart rate, respiration and calories burned is then pulled into apps and desktop programmes so users can monitor their performance.
And now they are closer than ever to landing their first order with interest within the sports industry, national retailers and the military.
CEO Martin Ashby said: “At the moment we are talking to a number of sports brands about launching a product where we would license the sensor tech to them.
“They would make the garments with input from us to ensure it is all working properly and we would run the supply chain for the electronics.
“Ironically, we have a number of interested parties all in America with interest from two armed forces as well.”
Smartlife originally specialised in research and development in various industries before focusing on the sports sector in 2012.
The original technology was bought from the University of Manchester in 2004.
Investment from two Australian brothers boosted the SME as it pumped in an initial £1m followed by half again.
Chemical engineering graduate Ashby joined Smartlife in 2013 after a combined 16-year stint in electronics and the sports fashion industry.
After working for Umbro sourcing garments, he moved to Shop Direct, building up a working knowledge of how the tech worked. The 51-year-old, from Macclesfield, took the jump into wearables as he ‘wanted something less corporate.’ He said: “I had always loved trying to fix things and I was looking at the latest trends when I was asked to launch a product for a wearable tech start-up. “Our aim was that the tech had to go into a normal garment because we wanted to make something that was also wearable in its own right. “As a consumer I want to look normal while I am using the product and tell people the story behind it – not feel awkward and uncomfortable.”
Our aim was to put tech into a normal garment Martin Ashby, CEO Smartlife