Until the 1960s, the contents of research and teaching at the new institute consisted of fibre science and testing, spinning machines, weaving and finishing machines as well as textile production. Under the direction of Professor Dr Walther Wegener, numerous test methods were developed and the institute established at the RWTH Aachen University.

New contents at the beginning of the 1970s

At the beginning of the 1970s, new contents were successively added, including knitwear and nonwovens. Professor Dr Joachim Lünenschloß successively expanded the chair and concentrated on topics of spinning and weaving. Under Professor Dr Burkhard Wulfhorst, new focal points were added in order to take into account the new framework conditions of an increasingly global economy. He began researching machines and processes for the manufac-ture of fibre composites, founded a research group for medical tex-tiles and smart textiles and also oriented the institute internationally through various cooperative ventures. 

Professor Dr Gries takes over ITA’s management

After Professor Dr Thomas Gries took over the management of the institute in 2001, ITA has gone through a very dynamic growth phase, especially in the last ten years. Today ITA employs about 400 people, including more than 100 scientific employees. ITA is one of the largest institutes of the RWTH Aachen University with the widest range of applications at the location.

Throughout its history, ITA has been significantly involved in many important process and machine developments in textile technology. These include, for example, false-wire texturing, air spinning, rota-tional braiding and automated weaving machines. The basic devel-opment up to the practical maturity of textile-reinforced concrete as a new building material took place in cooperation in Dresden and in Aachen at the same time, in each case with significant participation of the textile institutes of both locations. The development and ex-pansion of our capacities for the production of fibres from polymers as well as for glass and carbon fibres were also a major contribution to a "full-service" institute.

AI at ITA for > 25 years

Artificial intelligence (AI) is on everyone's lips today. More than 25 years ago, ITA’s AI process was used to predict machine settings and product properties - then as a pioneer in this field. Dr Dieter Veit - today ITA’s Academic Director - likes to remember this time:

"In the beginning, we took the basics for the program code for a neural network from a computer magazine and adapted it - and then trained the network until it could deliver reliable predictions. Later, we developed our own neural networks."

At that time, "only" the powerful computers were missing to make this approach a resounding industrial success - so this research was ahead of its time. Computer capacity exists today, the mathematical foundations have not changed significantly for the basic industrial AI applications. Thus today's researchers can fall back on the dissertations and research reports from the late 1990s and early 2000s and still be "up to date".