The Obama administration will announce the setting up of a new flexible hybrid electronics manufacturing innovation hub in Silicon Valley.
This is the first time that such an organization will be headquartered in the West Coast where $171 million will be invested in such a project. For those who aren’t aware, this initiative is led by FlexTech Alliance and marks another extension of the government’s alliance with the private sector.
Some of the big names that are a part of this arrangement are Stanford, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Boeing, General Motors and Motorola among a number of others. In all, about 162 companies, labs, nonprofits and universities will be involved.
In particular, the focus of this alliance between the Department of Defense and this private consortium will be to improve the United States’ standings when it comes to both bendable and wearable electronic devices.
This institute’s presence on the West Coast marks the seventh of nine such institutes located in the United States.
The first, located in Youngstown, Ohio, focuses on new 3D printing technologies while the most recent in Rochester, New York is looking at the area of photonics.
All these institutes put together are pursuing innovation in emerging technologies so as to get a head start in advanced manufacturing. As a result, this will, in turn, attract jobs and investment to the United States.
In particular, teams in the Silicon Valley will research hybrid flexible electronic manufacturing. It should be pointed out that government also wants to build a wearable device that monitors both physical states and vital signs so as to improve the quality of Life of all Americans.