DoD Ties Closer to Silicon Valley With FlexTech Initiative

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon took a step toward building a closer relationship with Silicon Valley last week with the announcement of a new manufacturing initiative for flexible, bendable electronics. 
 
The new Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Flexible Hybrid Electronics will be based in San Jose, California. The institute falls under the aegis of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, a network of manufacturing research centers set up by the White House in 2013; this is the first such center set up in California. 
 
That’s not by mistake. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who announced the agreement in an Aug. 28 speech, has made increasing the ties between the Pentagon and the Silicon Valley world a priority. 
 
The FlexibleTech Alliance, which will run the institute, is a partnership of 96 companies, 11 laboratories or non-profits, 41 colleges and 14 state organizations. The companies involved in the project cut across the tech, medical and defense sectors. Industry giants such as Apple, Eli Lilly, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Xerox are all represented.  
 
The Pentagon will chip in $75 million to the cause, with another $96 million coming from non-federal sources. 
 
The initiative is the second physical footprint DoD will have in the region, following April’s announcement of the Defense Innovation Unit X (DIUX), a Pentagon outlet designed to funnel innovative ideas back to Washington. 
 
In recent years, Silicon Valley has had some resistance to working with the Pentagon, citing its slow acquisition pace. The gap between Washington and California has only grown in the last three years following revelations about the National Security Agency’s access to private data, a cause celeb among many in the Valley.
 
Following Carter’s remarks, Rep. Zoe Lofgren D-Ca., said acknowledged those concerns, and indicated she hoped that creating ties such as the FlexTech initiative will help improve that relationship.
 
"There has been a lot of suspicion in the Valley" over government spying, she said, but said this initiative is a win for both sides. "This relates to using technology in ways that’s smart." "It’s important that we celebrate this new day with the DoD."
 
Andrew Hunter, the director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, praised Carter’s announcement as an amazing first step in for establishing the kind of relationships the secretary talked about in his Stanford speech in April. This initiative allows innovative companies like Apple to work with the DoD without all the bureaucratic hassles of the standard acquisition process, he said.

The program is designed so that it will to produce both commercial benefits for the private sector and technological advances for the DoD, he said. Other areas where this model could be effective include additive manufacturing, autonomy, robotics and nanotech.

Ben FitzGerald, director of the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, says the format of the initiative could benefit DoD as it works to create ties with Silicon Valley.
 
"By contributing to a consortium, rather than directing specific R&D or trying to set formal requirements in a contract, the DoD can benefit from the thinking of others and help move a growing industry forward," he said. "The investment also shows a positive model for DoD collaboration with innovative organizations in a way that does not tie impose bureaucracy on those organizations in a way that may stymy innovation."
 
The benefits aren’t just about the ties between the Pentagon and the Valley, of course. Indeed, there are very real, tangible benefits to developing this kind of flexible technology.
 
Flexible technologies have become a focus of the commercial sector in recent years as "wearable" tech such as the Apple Watch or the FitBit line of sensors have started to permeate the market. The Holy Grail for such companies is thin, lightweight technologies which could be incorporated into clothing or worn with a minimum of fuss.
 
In his speech, Carter praised the "enormous potential" of the technology, noting that if it develops as the Pentagon hopes, "industry partners can shape electronics to things, after decades of having to do it the other way around." 
 
FitzGerald sees the focus on flexible tech as a "smart" investment for DoD citing areas such as sensors and miniaturization that could see near-term benefits if the technology can be polished enough. 
 
Imagine a thin plastic computer worn around the wrist which could provide live biometric data on a solider in the field, or a laptop which could be rolled up into a mat and moved from operating centers with ease. 
 
Such technology could also cut the weight aboard ships or planes, providing more space for cargo, while the ability to mold sensors to the outside of a fighter jet could reduce its radar signature and wind resistance. 
 
"We don’t know all the applications this next technology will make possible. That’s the remarkable thing," Carter said. "And that’s another reason why America, and America’s military, must get there first."
 
Email: amehta@defensenews.com, aclevenger@defensenews.com
Twitter: @AaronMehta | @AndClev