San Jose, Aug. 30, 2015: The United States Defense Department has awarded a US $75 million as grant to a Silicon Valley alliance to setup an institute for innovation in flexible electronics and next-generation Internet connectivity.
The grant to San Jose-based FlexTech Alliance will lead to the establishment of the Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which would be a consortium of 162 tech firms, as well as nonprofits, universities and research organisations.
The announcement was made by US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter at National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex At NASA’s Ames Research Center. Michael Ciesinski, President and Chief Executive Officer of FlexTech Alliance, said in a written statement, “FlexTech is privileged to accept this award from the Defense Department to stand up and lead the FHE MII. Our partners collaborated on a superb proposal that links a national hub in San Jose to a network of centers of excellence throughout the US.”
The award is for $75 million in federal funding over a five-year period was being matched by more than US $96 million in cost sharing from non-federal sources, including the City of San Jose, private companies, universities, several US states, and not-for-profit organisations.
The institute would drive innovation in bendable, hybrid electronics – described as the intersection of electronics and high-precision printing. Such “stretchable” circuitry was expected to revolutionise how people monitored their physiology and improved the interconnectivity of devices over the Internet – often called the Internet of Things.
Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a statement that the Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute would accelerate growth of companies and good jobs in San Jose.
The cooperative agreement will be managed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory and based in North San Jose at a facility provided by manufacturing services provider Bestronics.
You may also want to read: NSA funding university IoT cybsersecurity research project
Image Credit: FlexTech