Google is currently working on a new form of remote controlling for devices through textile technology. Users will soon be able to control devices using wearable fabric tech.
The name of the game for future devices is wearables. The innovation needed to develop such technology actually takes tremendous amount of work and time. As such, the consumer market has only been able to truly experience wearables through the watch, virtual reality glasses and wireless earphones. Tech companies still have to make augmented reality glasses accessible to the regular consumer users.
Like all tech achievements throughout history, these successes are reached one step at a time. Google for its part is about to introduce a whole new concept of wearable starting with fabric.
Fabric textile technology
Last week, Google shared in its blogpost a breakthrough in textile technology. According to the blogpost, the tech industry has started to integrate textiles with devices such as speakers and braided earphone cords.
Soon, users will be able to control their devices with embedded technology within the fabric. Google showcased the innovation using headphones connected to smartphones.
With the embedded technology within the fabric cord, users were able to control the music playing on the phones using gestures.
Gesture control using the cords
In the blogpost, Google shared that the cord can be controlled using several hand gestures. These include, twist, flick, slide, grab, and pat. All these gestures send out specific commands that the new textile embedded technology receives.
The e-textile technology can be used in several application. The most notable one would of course be wired earphones. Not all users are comfortable using wireless earphones so they opt to use the USB-C connected ones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmqWuUeA5Ug
Google also shared that the e-textile technology may be used in hoodie drawstrings. Soon, hoodie lovers may be able to control the playback of music on their earphones using their hoodie’s drawstrings.
Future directions for the e-textile
Google envisions a future when eye-less commands can be given to tactile devices. Voice command is still the leader among all hands-free remote controlling. Nevertheless, the new e-textile technology will open up opportunities for everyday wearables.
This new technology may be integrated to everyday clothing of people such as jackets, dresses, and blankets. The possibility for the e-textile application is limitless considering that people have micro-interactions with different sorts of fabric every day. Google hopes to inspire others ‘to augment physical objects with scalable techniques, while preserving industrial design and aesthetics.’
Image courtesy of Made by Google/ Youtube