Levi’s and Google debuts interactive denim jacket at SXSW 2017

It is not just a jacket with fabric and design.

Levi’s smart jacket stands out from previous wearable tech because it’s actually washable and stylish. It will come in both men’s and women’s sizes. A tag clipped on the cuff wirelessly connects the yarns in the jacket to the user’s mobile device. The event presented the two collaborators with a high-profile opportunity to show and explain the new jacket to the public. If you’re wearing the jacket, you can tap the sleeve to get information delivered to your headset. There are a few preset gestures, and as you would in an app like IFTTT, you can assign certain actions to those gestures. It has also been reported that the touchpad will be powered by a rechargeable tag that is about the size of a peanut. However, they will have to charge the tag since it apparently lasts anywhere from a couple of days to hours depending on usage.

What makes the jacket possible are tiny electronic circuits woven into the fabric, enabling a small area on the side of the sleeve – composed of 15 conductive threads – to be touch-sensitive.

The textile deploys conductive threads that the company created by combing thin, metallic alloys with natural and synthetic yarns like cotton, polyester, or silk. Most smart clothing looks like it was borrowed from a ridiculous sci-fi movie from the ’80s. Clothing makers can make the electronics part completely invisible if they want. The search giant has said it’s now trying to determine how to incorporate third-party developers into the platform to grow its functionality. Although it is not the most affordable price for a clothing, the added amenities in connection to the smartphone places the jacket at an affordable rate. The features include starting or stopping the music, reading text messages, answering the phone or using Google services like Maps and the Calendar. According to the Verge article, a spokesperson for Google indicated that the company has “been going through continuous consumer wear testing to refine the jacket and its abilities”.