Google’s Project Jacquard Transforms The Everyday
Gone are the days of textiles being single functional tools, solely producing garments. Now they hold a digital purpose. As tech giant Google has demonstrated, textiles are continuously being used to redefine everyday life.
Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects lab (ATAP lab) has led to the exciting release of Project Jacquard. Touch-sensitive textiles allows your on trend backpacks and jackets to receive digital information. These digital services can vary from receiving alerts and reminders to taking pictures or selecting which playlist you want to begin your day with.
What makes this project relevant? A small Jacquard tag collaborates with the Jacquard app and Bluetooth to send digital information, making the process convenient and easy. However, Google also keeps the experience tailored to individual customer needs. Via the app, you can select which Jacquard features you wish to add to your item. This digital experience is a personal one.
Take for instance luxury brand Saint Laurent, the new Cit-e backpack consists of classic style and tech innovation. This advanced item comes with a left strap that responds to touch gestures, while making sure you never forget any of your valuables. Light indicators are used to alert you when leaving an essential behind such as your phone. On top of this, a Jacquard tag is subtly placed in the backpack, allowing you to specify which reminders you wish to receive.
For any cyclist, Levis’ Commuter Trucker Jacket is a must have. Navigate your directions or control your music through simple touch gestures registered by a Jacquard thread in the left cuff. The jacket contains a snap tag, wrapped around your wrist, creating a vibration in your sleeve when receiving those all important work or personal texts. Levi have stepped their game up.
At Infi-tex, we are inspired to see a global leader such as Google push the future of textiles through innovative technology. Just as Google uses touch sensitive features to receive information, our infisoles and trackwall gather priceless information about you and your movements. Don’t forget our Softswitch Button Strip either, which also exploits Bluetooth, allowing you to change music channels via your jacket.
However, while one can only admire the innovative nature of the Jacquard Project, the accessibility of these products is a concern. The prices for such items are hefty, with the backpack costing £685 and the jacket holding a retail price of $350. Living in a world full of technological revolution is a unique opportunity and therefore should it not be accessible to the everyday humble citizen as well as the privileged elite stratas of society? Besides if these items are designed to enhance the everyday experience, one can only wonder how practical and safe it is to walk around with a luxury designer brand backpack. At Infi-tex, we are always aspiring to make our products accessible to numerous sectors of society, rather than focusing on one target market.
Nonetheless, it’s great to see both Google and Infi-tex pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with textiles. Stay updated with our exciting new projects on http://www.infi-tex.com.
