Of all the things discovered and discussed at last week’s Google IO event, one of the most intriguing concepts is the collaboration between Google’s ATAP division and Levi’s to bring the world a line of connected garments. This particular endeavor of ATAP’s is dubbed Project Jacquard, and with Levi’s being ATAP’s first official partner it’s essentially going to culminate into a series of clothing pieces that consumers can wear which have the ability to connect to and interact with our smartphones and other electronic devices. At the moment there is no exact defining task or purpose which Levi’s Jacquard clothing will fulfill, but there are certainly going to be an open world of possibilities on how Levi’s and ATAP will be able to take their creations and apply them to the real world for users.
At the Google IO event the prototype fabric shown off by ATAP gave off a simple display of how the technology could be applied to everyday life, by using the swipe gestures on the fabric to manipulate volume controls as well as music controls for a phone connected to the fabric, but when things are finalized and ready to hit store shelves functionality will likely be more than just music controls on your jeans. The whole concept sounds like somewhat of a niche product, but Levi’s Paul Dillinger states that they’re working to create this set of products for people that already love the Levi’s brand, and although he didn’t mention any sort of exact target costs, he did state that what they will create will have a modest premium and that they aren’t “going after some outrageous markup.”
If you’re intrigued by technology and the collaboration which brings about new and innovative ideas for things such as wearable clothing, keeping an eye on what Levi’s is going to offer is something worth making a mental note of. Since there’s still some time between where ATAP and Levi’s are now and when these products will be launched, it might be hard to visualize what they’ll be compatible with. According to Dillinger, he believes that their garments will end up being able to connect with both Levi’s branded applications as well as other apps, which is good news for anyone already considering buying whatever clothing comes up when it hits the market, which by the way is expected to be sometime in the second half of 2016.