NextFlex Opens Silicon Valley-Based Innovation Institute For The Development And Adoption Of Flexible Hybrid Electronics

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- One year after Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced a $75-million award to advance the manufacturing ecosystem and workforce for flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) in the United States, NextFlex will commemorate the official opening of its manufacturing facility in San Jose with an event that will include formal remarks by Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense André Gudger, San José Mayor Sam Liccardo, and Representatives Mike Honda, Anna Eshoo, and Zoe Lofgren. NextFlex Executive Director Malcolm Thompson will highlight real world examples of FHE technology and NextFlex member companies and academia will offer demonstrations of FHE technology that will change the way people live.

The event is open to accredited media only.  Media who wish to cover the event must RSVP with name, position (Reporter, TV, Camera, Photographer, etc.) media outlet, phone, and email for each person planning to attend the event to [email protected] no later than Tuesday, August 30th at 12:00 p.m. Visitors must also provide a valid form of government issued ID, such as a driver license, passport, military ID at event check in.

FHE promises to transform powerful, yet traditionally bulky electronics into formats that bend, stretch, fold, and conform to the contours of our world, whether a human body, a vehicle, infrastructure, and other objects. The next generations of electronics will reveal smarter and lighter consumer wearables; health monitoring devices, including intelligent patches and bandages for medical treatments; structural monitoring to protect and optimize buildings, vehicles, bridges, and more; and "soft" robotics, including advanced flexible electronics for prosthetics that can assist, restore, or enhance physical capabilities.

Note to editors, examples of FHE technology include:

• Saving Newborns: An FHE patch will enable continuous monitoring of lab values without drawing blood—especially life-saving for premature babies who cannot give blood.
• Protecting Warfighters: Smart wireless patches will continuously monitor cognitive abilities and provide early warning when operating under dangerous levels of stress, fatigue, and distraction.
• Sound Structures: Conformal or integrated devices will sense and report on the state of infrastructure, vehicles, logistics, or the environment.
• Soft Robotics: Advanced flexible electronics for prosthetics will assist, restore, and enhance physical capabilities.

For media interested in conducting interviews prior to the event or for any further information regarding the event, please contact Meagan Hardcastle at [email protected].

SOURCE NextFlex