Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




MILTECH
Pentagon joins Silicon Valley in 'flexible' tech hub
By Rob Lever
Washington (AFP) Aug 28, 2015


The Pentagon is building a tech hub in Silicon Valley to help create new gadgetry for the supersoldiers of the future as well as tech-savvy consumers.

A plan unveiled Friday called for a new Manufacturing Innovation Institute to be based in San Jose, California to work on new kinds of flexible technology that can be used both on the battlefield or for civilian health, smart homes and cities.

According to the White House, the project seeks to foster "American leadership in manufacturing technologies from smart bandages to self-monitoring weapons systems to wearable devices."

It brings together the electronics industry and the high-precision printing industry in a "FlexTech Alliance" to create sensors that conform to the curves of a human body or stretch across an object or structure.

The $171 million plan announced by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will get $75 million in federal funds, and bring together electronics and semiconductor companies like Applied Materials, Apple, United Technologies, Hewlett-Packard and Qualcomm with users of the technology such as Boeing, General Motors, the Cleveland Clinic, Corning and Motorola.

The goal is to make better "flexible" and "bendable" electronic sensors -- the key elements which make objects "smart" and connect to the Internet of Things.

"Flexible hybrid electronics have the power to unleash wearable devices to improve medical health monitoring and personal fitness; soft robotics to care for the elderly or assist wounded soldiers; and lightweight sensors embedded into the very trellises and fibers of roads, bridges, and other structures across the globe," the statement said.

A separate Pentagon statement said these technologies "promise dual use applications in both the consumer economy and the development of military solutions for the warfighter."

- 'Investing in innovation' -

The project is the latest effort by the US military to overcome a rift with Silicon Valley and bring the tech sector into its efforts to innovate.

"This is one of my core goals as secretary of defense -- renewing the ties, the bonds of trust between our national security endeavor at the Pentagon, and our wonderful, innovative, open technology community of companies and universities that make up one of America's great strengths," Carter said in comments at Moffett Field in Silicon Valley.

"We're investing aggressively in innovation. We're pushing the envelope with research into new technologies -- on robotics, data science, cybersecurity, biotech, hypersonic engines that can fly over five times the speed of sound, and I could go on."

He added that the program is also "drilling tunnels through that wall that sometimes seems to separate government from scientists and commercial technologists."

Research partners include major US universities such as Stanford; University of California, Berkeley; Harvard; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The FlexTech team includes more than 160 companies, nonprofits, independent research organizations and universities and will be managed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

Carter said he was also stepping up efforts to recruit people with technology skills, and was stopping at the LinkedIn social network "to discuss and learn how DoD can better compete for talented Americans who want to contribute to our mission."

In recent months, the Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security have opened Silicon Valley offices as part of an effort to mend fences after the 2013 leak of classified documents by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and disputes over issues ranging from encryption to surveillance.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








MILTECH
Oshkosh building Humvee replacement
Oshkosh, Wis. (UPI) Aug 26, 2015
Oshkosh Defense is to build the U.S. military's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle that will partially replace the Humvee. The contract awarded the company by the U.S. Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command's Life Cycle Management Command is worth $6.7 billion. Oshkosh Defense said it expects to build 17,000 of the armored tactical vehicles under the award, which covers both low- ... read more


MILTECH
Russia Gets Ready for New Moon Landing

ASU chosen to lead lunar CubeSat mission

Russia's moon landing plan hindered by financial distress

Research May Solve Lunar Fire Fountain Mystery

MILTECH
Nine Real NASA Technologies in 'The Martian'

Opportunity gives clay-mineral rocks get closer inspection

Mars Rover Moves Onward After 'Marias Pass' Studies

NASA can send your name to Mars

MILTECH
French woman wins disability grant for 'gadget allergy'

Chinese tourists unfazed by currency fall, market turmoil

Middle School Students Write Code for Space Station

Orion parachutes pass failure test

MILTECH
China's "sky eyes" help protect world heritage Angkor Wat

China's space exploration potential has US chasing its own tail

China to deploy space-air-ground sensors for environment protection

Chinese earth station is for exclusively scientific and civilian purposes

MILTECH
ISS Crew Redocks Soyuz Spacecraft

CALET docks on the International Space Station

Japan's cargo craft delivers supplies, whiskey to space station

Whiskey Delivered to Space Station - For Science Only

MILTECH
Countdown for Indian rocket GSLV launch to begin on August 26

Galileo satellites are "topped off" for Arianespace's upcoming Soyuz launch

ARSAT-2 arrives in French Guiana

Success for 2 long-time Arianespace customers: Eutelsat and Intelsat

MILTECH
A new model of gas giant planet formation

Planetary pebbles were building blocks for the largest planets

Solar System formation don't mean a thing without that spin

Gemini-discovered world is most like Jupiter

MILTECH
US Needs to Upgrade Old Radars to Detect Russian Missiles - Carter

Smallest 3-D Camera Offers Brain Surgery Innovation

Scientists from NTU Singapore find electrifying solution to sticky problem

Combined disciplines, computational programs determine atomic structure




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.