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Jacquard by Google transforms clothing
- zeveb 9y ago> Jacquard enabled/You empowered > Jacquard by Google transforms clothing. It’s an entirely new take on wearables that lets you do more than ever with the things that you love and wear every day. With Jacquard technology woven into the very fabric of your clothes, you can connect to your digital life instantly and effortlessly. With a literal brush of your cuff, you can navigate your life while living it. I can't tell — is this some sort of late or early April Fool's joke? Or have I finally just become such an old fogey that I'm yelling at those goshdurn kids to quit sequencing their nanites on my lawn?
- pmulv 9y agoEven after going to Jacquard's website, I'm having a real hard time understanding what this is or what this does.
- djstein 9y agocame here to say this. might have to pop into the store to check it out..
- tyingq 9y agoThis had better detail: https://www.blog.google/topics/atap/more-just-jacket-levis-commuter-trucker-jacket-powered-jacquard-technology/ https://www.blog.google/topics/atap/more-just-jacket-levis-c... Basically, you can make various gestures on the jacket cuff to control things like playing/pausing music, having an incoming sms read aloud to you, etc. Maybe useful if you're riding a bike, or other situations where interaction with a screen isn't practical?
- epmaybe 9y agoBut why the focus on the jacquard threads? If it is just the cuff, why can't we just wear a bracelet or something similar? When I first say them introduce this, I thought there would be more tech built into the jacket itself, but it looks as if the cuff is the only important part.
- seren 9y agoThe underlying tech could probably work on every part of the clothing. They probably found out that some gestures were awkward or unnatural in public, so the first iteration is pretty conservative. Touching your cuffs is pretty unsuspicious.
- epmaybe 9y agoThat's fair. So will we have to purchase a new jacket with a new iteration, or just a new snap-on attachment?
- seltzered_ 9y agoThose scenarios are exactly where I still like using a pebble watch. At least for the music control scenarios I usually don't need to look at the screen. The other scenarios still assume that I'm wearing earbuds - which arguably brings it's own risks (i.e. when riding a bicycle)
- dvfjsdhgfv 9y agoBut as the "tag snap" is detachable (so you can wash the jacket) it seems you can use it on its own, or with any other piece of clothing. I have a hard time understanding what is the advantage of this over any smartwatch.
- mediocrejoker 9y agoYou can't use it on any other garment, because the touch sensor is woven into the fabric.
- dvfjsdhgfv 9y agoOf the whole jacket or just the cuff?
- TeMPOraL 9y agoAt this point it's getting ridiculous. They should have made a detachable touch sensor instead. Why on Earth should I need to buy a particular piece of clothing to get a feature that's encompassed in 1% of it? I understand MVPs, but if you're going to actually integrate stuff into fabric, make it something more advanced than a single touchpad.
- devopsproject 9y agoit requires special threads embedded in the garment
- colorincorrect 9y agoWatching the YT video, is this just a denim jacket with a touch sensor on the sleeve cuff?
- nextlevelwizard 9y agoThat was my reaction as well. It is just bluetooth headphones, expect you need to use your own ear buds (probably come with a pair thou). And instead of buttons it has swipe gestures.
- simias 9y agoYeah I don't really get it either. Why not sell the sensor on its own so that I can wear it on anything I want? What's the added value of having it sewn to your jacket? It's not like it's particularly small or discreet.
- EddieRingle 9y agoThis has been a few years in the making. The actual innovation here is the new gesture-sensitive fabric being woven into the denim, not whatever it's talking to.
- gr3yh47 9y agobecause then google can't quietly change the design of future versions to monitor you with more than they can get out of the touch sensor
- rtkwe 9y agoThey can’t really, the thing Jacquard was attempting was weaving an interactive surface into a piece of clothing. The clip on sensor is just a little glue interface that takes the sensor information from the cloth and extracts gestures and send them to the phone.
- Eridrus 9y agoIt's sensors woven into the fabric of the jacket, so that you can touch the jacket itself and have it recognize gestures.
- 45h34jh53k4j 9y agohttp://www.levi.com/US/en_US/category/men/collections/levi-collections-commuter http://www.levi.com/US/en_US/category/men/collections/levi-c... Why is this only in skinny hipster sizes like Slim Fit Levi's 511s. Damn you malnourished SF hipsters (I guess you cant afford to eat with Bay Area prices, also you keep buying new phones instead of food).
- atomical 9y agoYou must be a bodybuilder.
- gnopgnip 9y agoLevis makes commuter trousers in the 541 athletic fit. It is not as popular and often on sale. The 511 commuter is different from the normal 511 fit, higher rise and more room in the thigh, and the stretch is more forgiving.
- santaclaus 9y ago> Damn you malnourished SF hipsters San Francisco is actually pretty lite on the hipsters compared to, say, Bushwick or Portland. > Why is this only in skinny Skinny seems to be the default jean size, these days. Walk into a Uniqlo or something and the main thing you see is skinny.
- Raphmedia 9y ago
- tedwasright 9y agoSoy in a jacket. Now you can wear google.
- Alex3917 9y agoIf they can't even make the product good enough for people to want to buy it without making the sensors stand out as a conversation piece, then what's the point?
- 0xFFFE 9y agoAnd Project Soli. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNiZfSsPc0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QNiZfSsPc0
- mediocrejoker 9y agoI don't think this was even mentioned at Google IO this year. Anyone know what's going on with Soli?
- carapace 9y agoWow, radar gesture sensing.
- SurrealSoul 9y agoI feel like we are pushing this wearable tech thing too hard. Pushing all the cool ways we can put stuff into things (ordering pizza from your shoes, snapchatting from your glasses) but they ALWAYS boil down to "You can touch XYZ instead of your phone to pause your music". When we will get some decent applications, instead of enhancing the form
- digi_owl 9y agoI think the basic problem there is that we have run out of things do to via mobile in general, at least outside of the corporate world. Frankly most of what people do on "smartphones" today that is not work related could be done on featurephones a decade or more ago.
- TeMPOraL 9y agoThis is kind of sad. Computers in general should let us do more stuff outside corporate world. That's pretty much the definition of empowering humans. But I guess it doesn't monetize well enough.
- digi_owl 9y agoor there is simply only so many tasks that can be done without a human physically present, thus nullifying any point of doing it remotely.
- melling 9y ago“most of what people do...” This is almost surely wrong but you made the intentionally vague comment so it’s not so easy to point out where you’re wrong. You might claim, for example, that tasks like email or internet browsing existed but they did not work as well. Also, we certainly haven’t run out of things to do with mobile. We’re talking watches, phones, and tablets, etc right?
- misterbowfinger 9y agoOne way to look at wearable tech is as an extension of the surface of your smartphone. If you can interact with your phone throughout your clothing, there could be a lot of room for (warning, buzzword!) innovation there.
- bhewes 9y ago'Rainbows End' slowly coming to life!
- neom 9y agoThe video gives a lot more detail than the website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9ADVeNpypk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9ADVeNpypk No clue how to pronouce Jacquard btw. :(
- umanwizard 9y ago[ʒa'kaʁ]
- maximswim 9y agoFrench guy here : "jakar".
- ghostly_s 9y agoWhen Anglicized, the 'd' is typically pronounced, also.
- ringaroundthetx 9y agowhy are they all wearing corded headphones? a gaff, bad marketing, or dead on arrival?
- fancy_pantser 9y agoIf you type a single word into Google, it gives the definition and pronunciation. /ˈjakərd/ https://ssl.gstatic.com/dictionary/static/sounds/20160317/jacquard--_us_1.mp3 https://ssl.gstatic.com/dictionary/static/sounds/20160317/ja...
- dEnigma 9y agoOr "define: yourwordhere", in case Google doesn't automatically give you a definition.
- TFortunato 9y agoOn that, if you aren't familiar, the name refers to the Jacquard Loom, one of the first "programmable" looms, perhaps most famous for giving us punched cards! Cute name for a project tying computing and fabric goods! EDIT: Link - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacquard_loom#Importance_in_computing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacquard_loom#Importance_in_co...
- jtraffic 9y agoThis comes to mind: https://hackernoon.com/for-the-love-of-god-please-tell-me-what-your-company-does-c2f0b835ab92 https://hackernoon.com/for-the-love-of-god-please-tell-me-wh...
- wiradikusuma 9y agoIsn't cycling/driving with earphone plugged dangerous? I've tried it, and I couldn't hear the ambience sounds surrounding me.
- Brakenshire 9y agoThere are some augmented reality headphones which can filter out some sounds but not others, so you might be able to listen to music but still hear preferentially hear certain sounds like tyres, engines, etc, or perhaps human conversation. A bit like listening to a podcast on your phone, but having it pause or fade out when the a satnav app wants to tell you to take a turning. Although I think they're still a bit of a work in progress, at the moment the microphones pick up too much wind noise to be able to use them while cycling, but maybe something for the future.
- zimpenfish 9y agoEtymotic had an app for this which used the headset mic to monitor your surrounding and pipe "important" sounds to the headphones. Looks like it's migrated to Essency now. http://www.essency.co.uk/awareness-the-headphone-app/ http://www.essency.co.uk/awareness-the-headphone-app/
- steveadoo 9y agoI would think so. It's actually illegal in my state(PA) to wear headphones while driving. Not sure about bikes though.
- r00fus 9y agoHow does PA square this against (in e.g. a rented car) the alternative for many folks is putting the phone to the ear... seems like a stale law. Not all cars/phones/media can do handsfree.
- chickenfries 9y agoI hate that the video encourages wearing headphones while cycling. I have a phone holder on my handlebar and turn up the volume on my phone, works great.
- rootedbox 9y agoFor some reason wrapping myself in google.. Doesn't make me feel secure.
- firasd 9y agoI dig it. Ever since 'smart watches' started I've felt like grown men wearing digital watches is a bit awkward. I'd prefer more subtle things like Google Glass or tech woven into clothing fabrics. We definitely need to get beyond smartphones and into more ubiquitous form factors so we don't evolve into creatures with our upper backs and necks contorted downwards. I always liked this UI from Mission Impossible 5: https://imgur.com/6H1dJ2n https://imgur.com/6H1dJ2n
- TeMPOraL 9y agoRelated, CPS suite from Continuum series. A fun feature it had that I would love to have on real clothing - you could pop up a slider and change the color of the suit. EDIT: here's a video of its various features: https://vimeo.com/64120587 https://vimeo.com/64120587
- Brakenshire 9y agoWith you on the subtlety, not so much on google glass being subtle!
- Terretta 9y ago> ”wearing digital watches is a bit awkward... prefer more subtle things” Subtle as a giant hearing aid looking thing attached like a shiny black cucumber slug on the outside of your jacket’s wrist?
- firasd 9y agoI think of this as a prototype or exploration rather than the final form of the technology. What I 'dig' specifically is the attempt to explore wearables integrated into textiles.
- nijynot 9y agoWhy get this denim jacket when you can get an iPhone and an Apple Watch? Jacquard only puts limits on you as it's stuck on that specific denim jacket. Apple Watch on the other hand works with any jacket. You don't even need a jacket with Apple watch, you can wear whatever you want, whenever you want, and it would still work compared to Jacquard which wouldn't.
- anindha 9y agoThe idea is that every piece of clothing one day will incorporate this.
- nijynot 9y agoBut why not buy a single smart watch and keep your clothes normal? I mean, it's seems redundant to make every single piece have similar tech functionality when you can have one watch that works with all clothes. If you choose to have different tech in different clothes, I don't see why you don't want to combine everything into a watch. Though there are edge cases where you can want to split it up. But then your customer base gets much smaller.
- anindha 9y agoInteracting with your clothing is more convenient than interacting with a smart watch in many situations. If one day it costs $0.50 to add, why not add it to every jacket that is made?
- Brakenshire 9y agoIn this case, it's possible you would actually wear one jacket whenever you were cycling, and the gestures might only be useful for that application. A cycling jacket also probably needs to be water and wind resistant, breathe well, and include reflective panels. The latter at least seems to be included in this design. The idea of clothing engineered to a particular purpose is a good one, in my opinion. For instance to use woven retroreflective material (which reflects back bright light, but looks normal in ordinary conditions) in a casual jacket you would use whenever you were cycling, but could also as a general purpose jacket, rather than having to carry around and put on a lot of separate and unwieldy reflective gear. However, it does need to use a standard api for communication between the snap tag, phone and jacket, and use a standard physical connector. I'm not going to spend $350 for a jacket that can only be used with one company's proprietary technology, and which has to be replaced when the next generation snap tag / dongle comes out.
- Sodman 9y agoA lot of hate going on in the comments here, but as somebody who doesn't really like wearing watches - I'd take the idea of "Subtly vibrate on text/notification received" being built into my jacket over it being built into a smartwatch. Would love to know how much this costs though.
- addedlovely 9y ago"The Jacket is designed to withstand up to 10 washes with the Jacquard snap tag removed but your experience may vary by usage and wash conditions" "Note: You can wear the Jacket in the rain, but if the Jacket becomes too wet it may not reliably detect gestures. Allow the Jacket to dry and resume using. The snap tag is resistant to rain and splashing, but it is not fully waterproof" Sure it's really "Specifically tailored with the urban cyclist in mind"...that's one wet, smelly, denim jacket after a few rides in the UK.
- chickenfries 9y agoIs this really any worse than a denim jacket? I have a levi's jacket and I've never washed it. It's gotten rained on once or twice but I just dry it off. I also believe denim is anti microbial? Honestly, I only wash my jeans once they've had something spilled on them.
- r00fus 9y agoAre you serious about not washing your jeans regularly? I have skipped a couple of weeks on lightly worn pants, but default is definitely to keep it in the wash cycle...
- LambdaComplex 9y agoDepends on the jeans, really. I'm pretty sure it's fairly common for people with jeans made from selvedge denim to go months without washing them so they don't fade as much/have a nicer fade pattern.
- chickenfries 9y agoI only wash them if they've had something spilled on them or if they really smell from accidentally wearing them on a very hot day or something. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/levis-ceo-explains-why-you-should-never-wash-your-jeans-a6881031.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/levis-ceo-ex...
- Mz 9y ago
- maxerickson 9y agoSomeone send one to Scoble.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- lerie82 9y agoSo basically after reading the comments I should make my own sensor people can hold in their hands or pin to their sleeves then market it? Who wears Jean jackets? Lol
- StefanKarpinski 9y agoThis may be the worst, least informative technology website I've ever seen – and that is a high (low?) bar. It fails the "what is it?" test with spectacular aplomb. And never have I learned less from a "learn more" page. “Music should keep you moving, not make you look at your phone.” Um, yeah, ok, thanks for that helpful information.
- ucaetano 9y agoHave you thought that maybe you're not the target audience for that page, and that most people in the world are not interested in the technical details as you are?
- personjerry 9y agoBut where are the non-technical details?
- ucaetano 9y agoFrom the page: Specifically tailored with the urban cyclist in mind, the Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket was designed for getting around the city. The jacket features articulated shoulders to provide extra room to maneuver, reflectors, and a dropped hem to keep you covered as you ride. You can easily access your digital world because Jacquard technology is woven right into the sleeve. Tiny electronics contained in the flexible snap tag connect the Jacquard Threads in the jacket’s cuff to your mobile device.1 The snap tag lets you know about incoming information, like a phone call2, by giving you light and haptic feedback. Inspired by a strap that you would see on a cuff, it looks and feels like it’s a part of the jacket. The tag also houses the battery which can last up to 2 weeks between USB charges.3
- ucaetano 9y agoWait, there's more: Customize and control your jacket with the Jacquard app. Abilities let you control messages, phone calls, navigation, music4, and more. Assign and reassign different abilities to the gestures you want to use and decide when you want to be notified by LED and/or haptic feedback. And so on...
- mankash666 9y agoLooking at their video for the jacket, all the gesturing was done around the wrist area, where my Android wear watch already sits. They need a "killer" use case for this, but everyday jacket wearing folks can pass on this without missing much
- titzer 9y agoI'd be curious what the plan for recycling these fabrics is going to be. Microfibers from artificial fabrics are really a problem in watersupplies now. What will this bring?
- clizzin 9y agoI find the gesture choices interesting and suggestive of future directions for interaction with wearable devices. Their help article on gestures lists the four supported gestures with GIFs. One detail worth noting: "We recommend using four fingers when performing gestures. Note: To avoid unintentional activation, the jacket will not respond to gestures performed with a single finger." https://support.google.com/jacquard/answer/7537511?hl=en&ref_topic=7516780 https://support.google.com/jacquard/answer/7537511?hl=en&ref...
- forkLding 9y agoWondering about privacy issues though, seeing as google collects "location information", isn't this just another step to surveillance, etc. I'm kind of more interested in clothing that doesn't collect my data.
- nextlevelwizard 9y agoMeh, it is going to be bluetooth connected to your smartphone so why do you care what the jacket does?
- IanDrake 9y agoWhen you can't tell the difference between a joke and reality it can't be good. In this case, I guess this is a real thing, but reading the website it seems like it could just as easily be a joke. Kinda like the Antifa spoof pages on Facebook, which were hilarious if you knew what they were spoofs.
- didip 9y agoIf there is 1 high tech feature that I want from a clothing (I am willing to ignore everything else) is the ability to charge all of our gadgets wirelessly. I don’t care about controlling music player from my shirt, my phone already dies that.
- jweir 9y agoHow disposable is this product? Many products create a waste burden that is an after thought. Clothing has a good disposal path - reuse, recycle or just throw out. But what about wearable clothing? Since it is fashion it will have a short life cycle.
- ucaetano 9y agoYou could argue that denim jackets are never out of style, and last for many years. But then we're getting into fashion discussions...
- Brakenshire 9y agoThe fabric is more or less just metal threads woven into the cotton, isn't it? Not so different from a bit of shiny styling. The tag is a normal bit of consumer electronics like a smartwatch or an activity tracker.
- zghst 9y agoToo forward thinking
- alexasmyths 9y agoSideways thinking. What we might want from clothing: + Self cleaning + No need to iron but still feels like cotton, not plastic + Synthetics that are breathable like cotton + Cheaper + Can change colour/styles
- abalone 9y agoI'm not seeing the use case here, and that's probably why the marketing is so vague. There just isn't a solid one. There's really no need for this to control music. AirPods now have touch and voice controls built in. Smart earbuds are a much better solution for audio control than smart clothing that controls dumb earbuds. And if you're getting turn-by-turn directions you'll probably have your AirPods in as well, and you can just ask Siri for updates. That's so much more flexible -- you can ask for so much more than you could via preprogrammed swipes. That pretty much just leaves the use case of haptic notifications for people who don't want to wear a watch / wristband. I think if you care about this you'll at least put on a fitbit during your commute. And that works with all clothing.
- strebler 9y agoDoes this mean I'm going to have to charge my clothing now too?
- mkempe 9y agoJoseph Marie Jacquard was a genius [1]. Google should not use his name and implicitly appropriate his invention without proper acknowledgement. It bothers me that Google hijacked Jacquard's name for their own project, especially with such emphasis on looming. With decency, they could at a minimum have acknowledged his creations, influence, and inspiration. Their about page [2] does not acknowledge Jacquard's existence. Even worse, Google has trademarked the name "Jacquard", to appropriate that name in relation to tech-infused weaving [3]. Contrast with the Pascal programming language -- Blaise Pascal was honored explicitly when this language was named after him; the creator, Niklaus Wirth, never dreamed of using this name without explicit tribute, since the naming was intended as a tribute. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Marie_Jacquard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Marie_Jacquard [2] https://atap.google.com/jacquard/about/ https://atap.google.com/jacquard/about/ [3] https://www.trademarkia.com/jacquard-86643715.html https://www.trademarkia.com/jacquard-86643715.html
- mkempe 9y ago(to the silent downvoters) I hold that using someone's name without any explicit acknowledgment is an utter shame. Since you disagree by "vote" would you care to make a case instead?
- jfoutz 9y agoYeah, my initial thought was some sort of automated weaving that would shape panels with more threads for the different parts of my body. With a nice amount of thought put into bias and joints. Some techwear companies are doing things kind of like this, looser knit (but the same fit) around the armpits to help ventilation on t-shirts for example.
- majani 9y agoWhat problem is this solving?
- vkou 9y agoSo, this is a smart watch that is worn on your jacket. What happens when you step into a climate-'controlled' space, where its too warm to wear a jacket? Or when you go out in the summer, where it's too warm to wear a jacket? Or when you go out in the winter, where you wear a coat, instead of a jacket?
- nkrisc 9y agoIf you're listening to music on the go, you're probably wearing headphones or earbuds, right? Why not just build the controls into that and then you don't need an expensive jacket to handle input? To answer my own question: because then you can't sell an expensive jacket that does what's already possible without it.
- KirinDave 9y agoSo the exact same haptics tricks that homebrew folks have been using for years, but with more micronization? Okay. Sure. But they'd better not cut corners in the security of the handshaking and integration or someone's going to be able to hack your pants and make them buzz forever.
- alexasmyths 9y agoC: That'll be $9.99 A: Sorry, I forgot my jacket C: Oh, we have some convenience nike bio-gloves if you want ... A: Not biosynced to me. C: Oh. Uhmm ... face scan? A: I'm not American, I'm not in your DB. C: Bitcoin? D: No jacket. C: What do we do then? D: Do you take cash young robot? C: You mean like paper? No, it's 2040. Paper cash is unhygienic. D: So no coffee? C: I guess not. Sorry. Next.
- shimon 9y ago2040 startup idea: body-identity-based micro-credit. "You forgot your wallet, but you look fairly legit. For a 5% surcharge, we'll give you that coffee now. Pay this IOU online later. In case of nonpayment, you consent to nationwide tracking by our network of facial recognition drones."
- fixermark 9y ago... which sounds pretty close to Amazon's idea. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/amazon-go-grocery-store_us_58459015e4b017f37fe5b133 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/amazon-go-grocery-store_...
- shimon 9y agoCool, but the Amazon Go store relies on you authenticating yourself (and presumably paying) via an app. Do you think they contemplated doing visual ID of the shopper, or would it just be too creepy to walk into the store and have it say "Hello Dave, I'll put it all on your tab!"
- xtracerx 9y agoJacquard as the product name sounds like a Silicon Valley joke. I think they might be getting a little out of touch at Google. :o
- neil_s 9y agoA product that puts sensors in your clothes. And you feel that the NAME might be the out-of-touch bit?
- neves 9y agoPrice, anyone?
- neves 9y agoCan I put it in the water machine?
- johnaspden 9y agoSo, er, it's a coat, with some crap sewn into it, and that crap has something to do with telephones?
- cha5m 9y agoThis is the definition of a gimmick. How is this superior to the various existing bluetooth-based solutions. Need to navigate without looking at a screen? Bluetooth headphones or a bluetooth connection to your car. Need to skip a track when listening to music? Bluetooth headphones or a bluetooth connection to.... Need to "handle a call"? Bluetooth head-
- m0llusk 9y agoCouple this with Nest style temperature control and I'm sold.