Jeans maker Levi’s will partner with Google to weave the Internet into textiles, transforming sweaters and jeans into a new kind of mobile device.
Engineers from Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group, or ATAP, and a Levi’s fashion designer announced the new Project Jacquard on Friday morning during the second day of the Google I/O software developer conference.
Levi’s is the first of what Google hopes will be many fashion partners on the new technology, which relies on using standard looms to weave a yarn that is hard to distinguish from traditional cotton, polyester or silk textiles but contains thin, metallic alloys.
“The goal of Google’s Project Jacquard is to confront the historical limitations of wearable technologies by decoupling the touch interface from the digital device,” said a statement Thursday from San Francisco-based Levi’s. “Jacquard makes garments interactive — simple gestures like tapping or swiping send a wireless signal to the wearer’s mobile device and activate functionality, such as silencing phone calls or sending a text message.”
Above: Project Jacquard, shown here in an exhibit at this week’s Google I/O software developer conference, is a new partnership between the search giant’s ATAP research division and fashion giant Levi’s to create interactive, Internet-connected textiles that can be controlled through touch sensors. (Photo by Matt O’Brien)
