The Obama Administration announced Friday morning that it will be providing millions of dollars for the FlexTech Alliance to create a new tech hub for wearable devices.
The Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, San Jose Mayor and local congressmen made the announcement at an event on Friday in Mountain View.
The government is investing $171 million in the new Manufacturing Innovation Institute at FlexTech Alliance. This is the seventh manufacturing institute launched by the federal government and fifth led by the Department of Defense.
The high-tech investment could lead to wearable health monitors that could be built into military uniforms or used to assist the elderly. Or it could foster thin, bendable sensors that could be tucked into cracks or crevices on weapons, ships or bridges where bulky wiring could never fit. The sensors could telegraph structural problems or trigger repair alerts.
FlexTech Alliance is a public-private manufacturing group headquartered in San Jose working to create manufacturing technologies such as smart bandages and self-monitoring weapons systems. The alliance is made up of 162 companies, non-profit organizations, labs and universities.
