Apple is one of several companies and organizations teaming up with the Pentagon to develop high-tech wearables for the U.S. military.
The goal of the $171 million project? To develop stretchable electronics that can worn by soldiers, and eventually used for real-time monitoring of the structural integrity of ships and warplanes.
Brought together under the name FlexTech Alliance, the project brings together 162 companies, universities and other groups, including Boeing and Harvard.
“I’ve been pushing the Pentagon to think outside our five-sided box and invest in innovation here in Silicon Valley and in tech communities across the country,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday. Carter visited California four months back, when he met with members of the tech community.
The Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Hub will be based in San Jose. It is the seventh of nine institutes planned by the Obama administration to help revitalize U.S. manufacturing sectors, several of which are defense-related.
In related news, an interesting story published today by Politico discusses how Tim Cook — unlike his predecessor Steve Jobs — has become heavily involved with politics during his tenure at Apple.
Source: Reuters
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
4 responses to “Apple to help Pentagon develop military wearables”
I wonder if Apple would waste time with this stuff. It seems as though Apple already has its hands full with its current business. This seems like something Google could really get into. They love working on all sorts of odd projects.
Yes, but Apple security features are superior.
Google loves it if it drives revenue to them… Apple is a maker of hardware and software whereas Google makes most of their money from their search engine so most products they create utilize the search engine or point back to the search engine to make the search engine more valuable for companies on it.
lol iCloud!