Posted on 05/30/2015 6:15:31 AM PDT by Enlightened1
On Friday, the second day of its annual developer conference, Google I/O, one of the search giant’s semi-secretive research divisions announced a project that aims to make conductive fabrics that can be weaved into everyday clothes. The effort, called Project Jacquard, is named for the French inventor of the Jacquard Loom, which revolutionized textile manufacturing and helped pave the way for modern computing.
Much like the screens on mobile phones, these fabrics could register the user’s touch and transmit information elsewhere, like to a smartphone or tablet computer. They are made from conductive yarns that come in a rainbow of colors and can withstand the clothing manufacturing process, so “can be woven into textiles on the same looms that are used to make traditional fabrics,” according to a Google news release.
Google also announced a new partnership with Levi Strauss in which the companies would try to make interactive garments that would allow people to do things like send someone a text message by swiping their jacket cuff. The companies said they were hoping to integrate the technology into an apparel line next year, but did not say what kind of clothes or how much they might cost.
Project Jacquard was one of several new projects to come out of Google’s Advanced Technologies and Products group, or ATAP. Others included Project Soli, an attempt to use tiny radars that can detect fine motions like hand gestures and finger movements, which could potentially allow someone to use their hand to manipulate any digital interface. Ivan Poupyrev, a Google researcher, demonstrated this by rubbing his fingers in the air, at which point a bead-sized ball on a screen responded to his gestures.
(Excerpt) Read more at bits.blogs.nytimes.com ...
And what kind of message can I send by stroking my jeans' zipper?
LOL!
die googoo.
What a stupid waste of time.
The glasses. The watch. Enough.
The next wearable technology: Google Condom. It will keep track of your sexual encounters/performance. This will be followed by Apple’s competing product, the iRubber.
They probably want your DNA, too.
Glass failed, though something like it will be back.
The market has not yet decided about the Watch. Though I suspect something like it will eventually be ubiquitous.
Do you not realize that technology and the market advances by throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks? By definition most ideas fail.
BTW, I thought the idea of putting a camera in a phone was the stupidest idea ever. Now I use mine all the time. lol
If excessive cell phone usage is linked with cancer, I can only imagine how carcinogenic surrounding your entire body with it might be.
Hey Google, why not turn Muslims into peaceful people? That would REALLY help the world.
5.56mm
If your clothes don’t detect excitement in the presence of dear leader, they call the police.
I’m only half joking.
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