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Pentagon Grants $75 Million To San Jose Alliance To Innovate 'Internet Of Things'

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- The Defense Department has awarded a Silicon Valley group a $75 million grant to establish an institute dedicated to innovation in flexible electronics and next-generation Internet connectivity.

Flexible electronic circuits are used in a variety of applications such as wearable technology, medical devices and satellite-powering solar cells. Bendable displays are currently used in consumer electronics such as mobile phones, curved TVs and e-readers.

The grant to San Jose-based FlexTech Alliance would establish the Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute, which would be a consortium of 162 tech firms, as well as nonprofits, universities and research organizations.

The institute would drive innovation in bendable, hybrid electronics – described as the intersection of electronics and high-precision printing. Lightweight, stretchable circuitry is expected to revolutionize how people monitor their physiology and improve the interconnectivity of devices over the Internet – often called "the Internet of things."

Other applications include biomarkers and device implants for soldiers during combat or for the elderly, sensors on vehicles used on land, sea, air and space, and integrated electronics in clothing and fabrics.

"The Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute will accelerate growth of companies and good jobs in San Jose," said Mayor Sam Liccardo in a statement. "This decision affirms our role as a global hub for innovation advancing the Internet of Things."

The cooperative agreement will be managed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and based in North San Jose at a facility provided by manufacturing services provider Bestronics.

The White House said the new institute is the seventh of nine new manufacturing innovation institutes launched by the Obama Administration in support of the Pentagon's initiative to build innovation hubs throughout the tech community.


Carlos E. Castañeda is Senior Editor, News & Social Media for CBS San Francisco and a San Francisco native. You can follow him on Twitter or send him an email.

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