According to technology website TechCrunch, Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects Department (ATAP) announced an interactive textile project called Project Jacquard last year. A year later, Google disclosed new progress on the project. According to ATAP department executive Ivan Poplev, Google is working with the famous clothing manufacturer Levi’s to develop a “connected” smart jacket for urban cyclists. The jacket will be connected to a smartphone, allowing the wearer to control music, answer calls, perform navigation and other operations simply by clicking and swiping on the cuff. Project Jacquard “weaves” multi-touch sensors into clothing, turning them into wearable computing devices.
Google said that the concept of this jacket called Commuter Trucker is to perfectly integrate fashionable wear with practical technology.
Today, cyclists often have to check their phones on busy streets, which can be very dangerous.
With Levi’s Commuter Trucker jacket, cyclists can now simply touch the cuffs of the jacket and use different touch actions to achieve different functions. Previously, they had to take out their phones to do it.
The jacket belongs to Levi’s Commuter clothing category, which targets urban residents who use bicycles to travel.
The jacket’s cuffs incorporate Project Jacquard’s “appendages” that make everything possible. The accessory, which can be removed and charged via USB, connects to LED lights, a haptic feedback system, batteries and fabric sensors in the jacket. The connection points cleverly utilize the buttonholes of the cuffs, which makes it look less obtrusive.
In addition, the platform includes a mobile app that connects the jacket to the cloud.
Google emphasized that users can use this smart jacket just like wearing traditional clothes, such as folding, washing, etc.
“The unique challenge of building a smart clothing platform is that fashion and technology must ‘work as one,’ but there is an inherent contradiction between these two points,” Poplev said. “Technology is prone to damage, but clothing is not.”
In addition to controlling calls, Google Maps, and Play Music, Google says the jacket will also interact with third-party services. This means users can also control Spotify music, for example, or fitness apps like Strava. Google will provide relevant application programming interfaces (APIs).
During stage demonstrations, the two companies showed off exactly how the jacket works.
For example, you can control the volume by continuously sliding your finger up and down the cuff. Another feature called “Compass” requires a swipe on the cuff, and then the voice assistant will notify the user of the time of the next meeting and how long it will take to arrive at the meeting location.
Google said it will work with other apparel manufacturers, including sportswear companies, in the future to expand the audience of the Jacquard project.
Commuter Trucker is currently still in the demonstration stage. Google said it will conduct beta testing this fall and will be officially launched in the fall of 2017.
Source: Dr. Seshangfangbu
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