Interactive clothing by Google and Levi’s

If you found bit extreme about the fashion sense of wearing T-Shirts with some LED lights blinking on chest, you would be happy to know – those days are gone. Google’s Project Jacquard brings in interactive clothing and has announced Levi’s as the first official partner to work with.

Think about you wearing a seemingly usual shirt or a jacket and just swipe its sleeve to initiate a call on your mobile.

How about your future house having internal walls clad with nicely designed fabric, but no electrical switches, fan regulators or AC thermostats. You just show some gestures to switch on the lights or to control the fan speed.

Every day-to-day object can be a secret controller with no visible control parts.

It may all be possible with Project Jacquard. Your interactivity to electrical and electronics equipment can become more natural than dealing with touch screens, keyboard or mouse.

What makes this all possible is a new conductive yarn, developed by Project Jacquard Team, which can be woven at desired location on the textile or through out the textile for a large interactive surface. It can be used to create visible designs or can be totally invisible. By weaving in this yarn, everyday objects like clothes and furniture can be transformed to interactive surfaces. The accompanying electronics components to capture touch and gesture data are designed to be very small to the size of a button.

This can predominantly revolutionize the fashion industry. It will bring the fashion designers and software developers together. Google ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects) Team brings Jacquard to the market as a platform, leaving the imagination to fashion designers, as possibilities are many.

Your next jeans from Levi’s can be a disguised remote control for many of your activities.

Official Video by Project Jacquard Team

Jacquard Meaning

Jacquard is a type of weaving process, named after its inventor, Joseph Marie Jacquard. The Jacquard process and the necessary loom attachment automate the production of unlimited varieties of pattern weaving. Find more details here: Jacquard Weaving.