Wearable tech is about to become more fashionable as American denim giant
Levi’s is to trial a new smart jacket with Google. The new partnership
between the world’s leading multinational technology company and Levi’s is
to see its first product collaboration launch for spring summer 2017.
The jacket, officially known as the Levi’s Commuter x Jacquard by Google
Trucker Jacket, goes into beta testing this autumn. The technology behind
it? It promises to allow people to answer calls, get directions and play
music with the touch of an arm, a tap of a cuff, or a press of a coat
button.
The technology, revealed by Google last week at its annual developer
conference in California’s Silicon Valley, is based on Google’s Project
Jacquard, which is working on conductive yarns that can be woven into
everyday materials and connected to miniature processors that fit into a
coat button.
The prototype is aimed initially at bicycle commuters who can tap, swipe or
hold on the left cuff of the sleeve to fulfill simple tasks like changing
music tracks, blocking or answering calls or accessing navigation
information (delivered by voice) – all functions that can be sustained
while riding in place of having to pull a phone out to do them.
The user can essentially programme the textile interface so their gestures
have meanings that activate preferred functions. Using the Jacquard
platform’s accompanying app, they can configure what they want primary and
secondary uses to be from some of the aforementioned options ahead of time.
They can also link to other known platforms including Spotify and GPS
tracker Strava.
“Last year we left it quite open [what the product might be]; it could have
been jeans or smart pants. But what we’ve now got is a functional and
fashionable garment in the Commuter Jacket, where technology is serving a
very clear purpose,” Ivan Poupyrev, technical programme lead at Google’s
Advanced Technology and Products (ATAP) group, told Forbes.
Paul Dillinger, VP of global product innovation at Levi’s, added:
“Wearables as a category is potentially vast and we didn’t want to get lost
in that territory.
“When Google started talking about the value of the solution, to us it was
somewhat valueless unless it could be assigned to a very explicit problem.
What we came up with was the urban cyclist, and once we got our heads
around the fact this had amazing potential for the guy and girl we’re
already talking to who loves their Levi’s, loves riding their bike, and can
really use this help, then the ideation process around the function became
quite natural and fluid.”
Levi’s says this is not “precious” technology. They want you to use it, to
beat on it, to get it dirty. Then, you can throw it in the washing machine.
Poupyrev says that this is a platform. You connect it over Bluetooth. The
touch zone is visible with some threads, but it’s not some big ugly wires.
The area is “thin and flexible” There are some chips, though, they fit in
the button loop on the sleeve — you just remove that part when you want to
wash the jacket. The weave is durable enough to handle regular use. “We
don’t have to treat a Jacquard jacket differently from any other jacket,”
he says.”
Long-term, the aim for Levi’s is to expand Jacquard across a wider product
assortment. To do so, the technology itself will be opened up to developers
from early 2017 to create functionalities beyond the commuter market.
Google said it is also continuing to look at opportunities to work with new
partners. Beyond the initial launch with Levi’s, Poupyrev’s team is
exploring athletics, formal workwear and enterprise garments, as well as
the luxury market.
According to a 2014 study by Forbes, 71 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds
want wearable tech. However, a study carried out in the UK in early 2015
among 1000 people reported that almost half (56 percent) said that wearable
tech was “just a fad”.
Image: atap.google.com/jacquard.