Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Has a Crazy Idea of Weaving Computers Into Clothes

Google MountainView Campus

You can always expect surprises when Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) meets the gathering of developers at its famous Google I/O Conference, and one of this year’s surprises is Project Jacquard. Here Google drives technology into normal fabric so that you can control you smartphone by simply swiping your jeans.

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has a stealthy division known as Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP), and it is where the company figures out and tests some of the craziest technologies you can imagine. At this year’s I/O Conference ATAP is showcasing how electronics can be built into fabric and be used to manipulate connected devices.

ATAP demonstrated how an electronics-enriched fabric can be used to control phone volume or pause the music playing on the phone. What you need to do to get this done is simply swipe the cloth and the music stops just like that.

Market availability not guaranteed

ATAP is a wonderful division with Google, but what happens is that not everything you see from ATAP team ever gets to real world market. However, on the issue of being able to control you smartphone by simply manipulating a nearby fabric shows just how much serious Google can get about connected devices.

Concept to break new grounds

In many cases, attempts to connected fabric to the Internet have mostly been focused on health and fitness industries. But Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Project Jacquard presents a concept that could be built upon to break new grounds in connected fabric within the larger Internet of Things initiative.

Top-secret research team

GOOGe tries to keep the operations of ATAP out of the public eye and that allows the team to figure out new technologies without pressure or distraction.

To drive revenue growth beyond the ad business mainstay, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is looking to such segments as virtual and augmented reality. The company is trying to keep up with Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in virtual reality rendering, which has been cited as the potential next big thing in the technology world.

Source: businessinsider.in