Google ATAP aims to bring touch-sensitive clothing to the mainstream with Project Jacquard

Google ATAP has brought us incredible advancements in technology like Project Ara and Project Tango, and now it’s time for the next crazy initiative from the group. It’s called Project Jacquard, and it aims to bring wearable technology to a whole new level. Jacquard actually makes garments interactive, allowing the user to tap or swipe on a certain portion of the clothing that will actually result in communication between the article of clothing and a user’s mobile device. The end goal here is to bring touch-sensitive fabric to the mainstream, and it looks like Google already has a great start.

The Jacquard loom is able to weave together both regular and super-conductive fabric into a single textile, which is the area users will interact with on the clothing item. The I/O demo shows off this concept already in action, giving attendees the ability to control lights and a media player with the fabric-made trackpad.

The conductive area communicates with the devices by means of a low-power Wi-Fi connection. There are a few additional components that allow the fabric to connect to the devices, but Google says they’re not quite ready to be sewn into clothing quite yet. The end goal with the extra components is to shrink them down to the size of a button, though there’s still a way to go until that will happen.

The ATAP team has already announced Levi’s as its first Jacquard partner. Levi’s is looking to create its own applications, but is also seeking contributions from the developer community. To learn more about Project Jacquard, head to the source link below.