Pentagon picks Silicon Valley as innovation hub for flexible hybrid electronics manufacturing
The Defense Department picked Silicon Valley’s FlexTech Alliance to lead a new Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Flexible Hybrid Electronics.
The goal of the FHE institute is to accelerate development of electronic sensors that weigh less, conform to the shape of the human body and stretch across the shape of an object. Uses include wearable devices for health and fitness monitoring, soft robotics to help wounded soldiers or the elderly, lightweight sensors that can be embedded into roads and bridges, and embedded sensors in automobiles and aircraft that operate in harsh environments.
This is the seventh Manufacturing Innovation Institute funded by the Obama administration as part of its drive to build innovation hubs around the country, and the first on the West Coast.
