At
Google's annual developer conference on Thursday, the tech giant
revealed that its Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) has
developed a textile woven with microfibers that have "digital sensing
capabilities" — a "smart fabric" that could, conceivably, interact with
devices including our smartphones. On Friday, Google announced that it
has a partner to help bring the textile to market: Levi's.
Google
calls the fabric "Jacquard" — a name that will no doubt cause some
confusion, given that jacquard is already a popular fabric ("Google
Jacquard or jacquard jacquard?") — and cautions that it's still in early
development stages. Jacquard will make its appearance in a not yet
determined piece of apparel next year.
The concept isn't entirely new. At the U.S. Open last year, Ralph Lauren unveiled a "Polo Tech" shirt
embedded with sensors that allows wearers to view their heart rate,
breathing rate, breathing depth, steps and calories burned on their
iPhones. What Google is proposing, however, is more seamless; the Polo
Tech shirt comes with a "little black box" attached to the wearer's
ribcage, which transmits data to iPhones via Bluetooth.
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