Levi’s x Google = Project Jacquard

words by ben stephens

This time of year, as the movers and shakers of the tech world meet in Austin to discuss the cool stuff they’re working on, the mind begins to boggle at the possibilities of what’s to come.

From new ideas such as ‘entertainment debt’, which is the term used when you, the viewer, have a backlog of content to watch but will probably never get around to hitting play on it. To NatGeo getting weird in the VR world where you can immerse yourself in Einstein’s thoughts. Mind blown.

The thing with tech is clearly the little caveat that it’s challenged every day – seeing today’s tech obsolete tomorrow.

What’s exciting us though?

Well, now that the boffins over at Google have finished licking their wounds from Google Glass concept, they’ve gone and put their best team into Project Jacquard.

Put simply, the project aims to weave touch and gesture interactivity into any textile… Wearable tech, not a new idea, but one that needs refining and that’s just what they have done.

The huge challenge that the Google team found was making a product that could be used across the world, through industrial looms. Funnily enough, it wasn’t the tech, they had that down pat. This is how they did it… 

Project Jacquard’s first partnership is with the king of denim, Levi’s. Because who else would it be.

Between them, the collaboration is looking to embed the touch-sensitive tech into the classic Trucker Jacket, making the piece completely interactive.

The prototype is championed for the bike commuter, using the gestured technology to help with navigation, phone calls and music selection during the ride. Check out the promo below:

We’re here team. We’re in the future and it looks exactl like the past. But if you touch it in the right way, you’ll be able to answer a phone call and skip that next track.

What a time to be alive.

The Project Jacquard x Levi’s Trucker Jacket is scheduled for a spring release in the US for a cool $350USD… Seems reasonable, huh?