Levi's and Google Partner on Smart Jacket
Levi's and Google's yearlong collaboration on wearable tech has produced its first product. The program, dubbed Project Jacquard, has given rise to a jean jacket designed specifically to make cycling safer for urban bike riders.
While the jacket is seemingly indistinguishable from similar jackets, it sports innovative techonolgy that allows the wearer to control his/her smartphone. The jacket is made of smart material that leverages LEDs and haptics to allow the user to sync with aps like Spotify and Strava, as well as control personal music libraries and GPS systems.
While the jacket is loaded with state-of-the-art technology it is rugged enough to be treated like any other garment, and can even be placed in a washing machine.
"Initially there was appetite from the technologists to make the activated space on the denim as explicit as possible, and to say ‘here I am, this is where I function’,” Paul Dillinger, VP of global product innovation at Levi’s told Forbes. “For us, it was about hiding it; that space for function should only be known to the wearer… It’s almost like a magician’s trick – the technology should not be apparent at all, you just look good, that’s all.”
For more on the partnership and the resulting product click here.
While the jacket is seemingly indistinguishable from similar jackets, it sports innovative techonolgy that allows the wearer to control his/her smartphone. The jacket is made of smart material that leverages LEDs and haptics to allow the user to sync with aps like Spotify and Strava, as well as control personal music libraries and GPS systems.
While the jacket is loaded with state-of-the-art technology it is rugged enough to be treated like any other garment, and can even be placed in a washing machine.
"Initially there was appetite from the technologists to make the activated space on the denim as explicit as possible, and to say ‘here I am, this is where I function’,” Paul Dillinger, VP of global product innovation at Levi’s told Forbes. “For us, it was about hiding it; that space for function should only be known to the wearer… It’s almost like a magician’s trick – the technology should not be apparent at all, you just look good, that’s all.”
For more on the partnership and the resulting product click here.