Quite recently Google announced that they are working with the star jean maker Levi Strauss to provide smart clothes. Yes, you heard it right. Few years from now, you’ll be wearing specially woven fabric with touch-screen control capabilities. A Jean with a Gene?
Google + Levi Strauss?
You would have probably heard about their “Project Jacquard” during Google I/O conference few days back. They mentioned Levi Strauss as their first partner. The word “Jacquard” from “Project Jacquard” derived from a Frenchman who invented a type of loom. Likewise, they are doing it by weaving conductive threads into fabric.
Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) team is running this Project Jacquard and they make it possible to weave touch and gesture interactivity into any textile material using standard industrialised looms. It’ll be stretchable and washable, it works almost like a normal fabric.
Emre Karagozler of ATAP said, “We are enabling interactive textiles. We do it by weaving conductive threads into fabric. Conductivity can be limited to desired parts of fabric or spread across entire cloth.”
With such fabric materials, Project Jacquard will enable you to make phone calls or send messages easily. All the related data will be sent wirelessly to the devices, such as your smartphone, tablet or smart watch.
Paul Dillinger (Global product innovation, Levi Strauss) said, “In our hyper-digital world, people constantly struggle to be physically present in their environment while maintaining a digital connection. The work that Google and Levi’s are embarking upon with Project Jacquard delivers an entirely new value to consumers with apparel that is emotional, aspirational and functional.”
Google ATAP – Project Jacquard
“Project Jacquard is a new system for weaving technology into fabric, transforming everyday objects, like clothes, into interactive surfaces. Project Jacquard will allow designers and developers to build connected, touch-sensitive textiles into their own products.”
Few days back I was debating with my friend that smart watches are not in a good scenario now, and few minutes back I came across this ‘smart cloth’ concept. Time is running fast?