Google is working on making a connected, technology-laced jacket that you'll be able to wear in any type of weather, Google announced Friday. It's called Jacquard, and the company has been working on it since 2015. It's set to come out in spring 2017.
Jacquard is made with interactive denim, made in partnership with Levi's. It has sensors that detect things like hand movements, which connect to various services on your smartphone, including calls, texts, Google Maps, Spotify and more.
If you're getting a phone call while riding your bike and wearing your Jacquard jacket, you can wave your hand over the sleeve to either accept or decline the call. You could also run your finger up or down the wrist cuff to turn your music volume up or down, or swipe quickly to change to the next song.
The jacket itself doesn't connect your your smartphone, it uses an electronic cuff link, or tag, to connect to a Jacquard app. It doesn't have any wires and charges through anything with a USB port.
Google is providing open APIs for Jacquard to allow third-party developers to create their own jacket-supported services.
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For developers, there is a beta version of Jacquard coming out in fall 2016, which you can sign up for to give feedback to Google and work on connecting your own products.
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Below is a video that shows the process of making denim that is both resistant to the elements and able to connect to your technology.
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Topics Google
