Project Jacquard adds smarts to a jacket
"Levi's claims that the intended use and care would be the same as that for a regular jacket"
With wearables becoming more popular than ever, the onus in recent times has been to make them as non-obtrusive as possible. We've seen them come in a wide range of form factors, but Google's ATAP division hopes to redefine the game by bringing smart technology to clothes through Project Jacquard.
The project was first announced at Google I/O 2015, and the latest edition of I/O had more concrete developments in this effect.
Project Jacquard makes clothes connected to smartphones, through intricate embedded systems that are literally woven into the fabric. Components that can be integrated into clothes through Project Jacquard include sensors to capture touch or gesture interactions, and output in the form of LEDs or haptic feedback.
At Google I/O 2016, a Levi's jacket was demonstrated that featured Project Jacquard's prowess. The jacket could enable wearers to dismiss or attend calls by waving over a button-like tag, or even connect to services such as music or maps, without even reaching for the phone or a smartwatch. Services that can work as of now include Spotify, Google Maps, and Strava, with Google stated to release APIs to developers for introducing more apps.
The partnership between Project Jacquard and Levi's has been a long-reported affair, and Levi's states that while this might be a 'smart' jacket, the intended use and care would be the same as that for a regular jacket. The chips and tags fit on the button loop in the sleeve - which have to be removed while washing - but other than that, the embedded technology is durable enough to withstand regular use.
A beta test of Project Jacquard will be performed later this year, and the launch is estimated in Spring 2017.
"Levi's claims that the intended use and care would be the same as that for a regular jacket"
With wearables becoming more popular than ever, the onus in recent times has been to make them as non-obtrusive as possible. We've seen them come in a wide range of form factors, but Google's ATAP division hopes to redefine the game by bringing smart technology to clothes through Project Jacquard.
The project was first announced at Google I/O 2015, and the latest edition of I/O had more concrete developments in this effect.
Project Jacquard makes clothes connected to smartphones, through intricate embedded systems that are literally woven into the fabric. Components that can be integrated into clothes through Project Jacquard include sensors to capture touch or gesture interactions, and output in the form of LEDs or haptic feedback.
At Google I/O 2016, a Levi's jacket was demonstrated that featured Project Jacquard's prowess. The jacket could enable wearers to dismiss or attend calls by waving over a button-like tag, or even connect to services such as music or maps, without even reaching for the phone or a smartwatch. Services that can work as of now include Spotify, Google Maps, and Strava, with Google stated to release APIs to developers for introducing more apps.
The partnership between Project Jacquard and Levi's has been a long-reported affair, and Levi's states that while this might be a 'smart' jacket, the intended use and care would be the same as that for a regular jacket. The chips and tags fit on the button loop in the sleeve - which have to be removed while washing - but other than that, the embedded technology is durable enough to withstand regular use.
A beta test of Project Jacquard will be performed later this year, and the launch is estimated in Spring 2017.
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