So we all know that wearable tech is something folks are excited about. We think of cameras on our wrists or glasses, some fitness statistics on your wristband, and probably a cool 3D headset to boot. Maybe we are looking as strange as Back To The Future portrayed 2015 to be. Fewer neon colors, perhaps, but definitely some interesting devices.
Well, things are about to get a little weirder. Google is working on a project that could embed wearable technology into your pants. Or your shirt, or any other fabric you place on your body. Called Project Jacquard, the aim is to make furniture, clothing or other fabric-covered items devices that you can touch or interact with.
"This is possible thanks to new conductive yarns, created in collaboration with our industrial partners," Google writes on the website. "Jacquard yarn structures combine thin, metallic alloys with natural and synthetic yarns like cotton, polyester, or silk, making the yarn strong enough to be woven on any industrial loom. Jacquard yarns are indistinguishable from the traditional yarns that are used to produce fabrics today."
Here's how the idea works. The sensors are actually woven into the rest of the fabric, allowing you to touch or gesture near a certain area in order to make an action happen. The electronics themselves are small, about button-sized, and can transmit wirelessly. While this is cool in theory, Singularity Hub says that we must make sure unintended gestures are filtered out.
"The tech isn’t too power hungry, but you’d still need to charge you pants every few days," the publication adds. "More self-sufficient iterations might harvest power from motion. You’d also want them to be selective -- that is, clothing is consistently touching your body or brushing objects as you walk around."
As Fast Company points out, it was well-known Google designer Ivan Poupyrev who came up with the idea. In the article, Poupyrev points to the size of the market, which is mind-boggling. About 19 billion garments are made annually compared to 128 million smartphones. That's a lot of potential pairs of pants sitting around waiting for devices to be embedded in them.
So many possibilities present themselves, and Bloomberg runs through a few ideas. A TV remote that is embedded into your sofa. An alarm that triggers when a thief reaches into your pocket to swipe something. Or perhaps devices in your underwear that will let you know when you are slouching, encouraging you to once again sit up straight.
But questions arise. Can we make the tech sensitive to a person's individual gestures, preventing or lessening the risk of a stranger messing up with the programming? What if we wanted to put the device into an existing piece of fabric -- how would that be achieved? And what happens when you are finished with the clothing and want to sell it or give it away?
How do you think this kind of wearable tech could be used?
Top image: Google's intelligent clothes being built. Credit: Google
