Connected jacket from Levi’s and Google gets ride-share alerts

Connected Jacket - Levi's and Project Jacquard

This latest smart clothing release from Project Jacquard has additional functionality.

Google and Levi’s launched a connected jacket last fall with limited usage options at the start, as was reported by QR Code Press. However, this Project Jacquard based smart clothing has received a considerable upgrade.

The connected jean jacket was designed primarily with cyclists in mind, keeping their gadgets accessible.

The idea behind the connected jacket is to make it possible for people who can’t fiddle with their phone to still access it. A brush or tap of the jacket’s cuff allows a wearer to screen and receive phone calls, get directions and control music. This wearable technology has now been upgraded to offer additional functions.

The latest wearable technology software update brings rideshare alerts to this smart clothing. It also provides location saving and gives access to Bose’s Aware Mode, said a Tech Crunch report. The features were added to the Jacquard wearable technology platform when it made its 1.2 update. The initial updates were rolled out at the start of this week and it will continue rolling out throughout this week.

The latest update to the connected jacket is designed to make it more widely usable beyond cycling.

The commuter jacket was initially created for people riding their bikes to work. However, Google is now aiming to make the jacket useful in times beyond when a phone is unreachable. In this way, the smart clothing may become more functional in general. This way, it isn’t just wearable technology meant for people who are actively commuting.

The new smart clothing feature makes it possible for wearers to connect with Uber or Lyft in the companion mobile app. They can then assign the jacket the “rideshare” ability to the cuff’s snap tag. This makes it possible for the jacket to notify the wearer when the ride is Connected Jacket - Levi's and Project Jacquardthree minutes away from arrival and again when it arrives.

Once the connected jacket wearer receives the notification, they can brush in with the smart clothing to hear additional information about the ride. Also supported is Aware Mode from Bose, which detects surrounding sounds and sends them to supported headphones. In this way, a user can still hear a call or music without losing touch with what is going on around them – such as approaching people or traffic.

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