ABSTRACT
Textiles and technology have long been connected: Textile production was one of the first human tasks to be completely mechanized. Interestingly, technological progress in weaving was also instrumental in the development of the computer. In particular, the mechanical loom invented by the French weaver Joseph Marie Jacquard at the end of the 18th century, and the analysis of its punch cards on the mechanical weaving loom, inspired Charles Babbage in the 19th century to undertake the investigations that precipitated the information technology revolution (Babbage, 1835/1986).
