DoD Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) MII provided an institute overview and demonstrated technology capabilities at its Cambridge, MA headquarters to Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu on May 31.
Ms. Heidi Shyu and team toured AFFOA HQ.
AFFOA represents a Fabric Innovation Network of over 150 members, including large and small companies and academic affiliates. Works in progress include developing a new on-shore BioSafety Suit Level 4 to replace the prior system and identifying domestic manufacturing performers to ensure a robust U.S. supply chain for materials and components.
Charlotte Fairless, Textile Technologist at AFFOA, shows how an embroidery machine can add additional functions to fabrics.
AFFOA is a key contributor to the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) Wearables efforts, a collaborative project with NextFlex and Drexel University. This project aims to develop a fully integrated, textile-based sensor system by incorporating Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) devices. In addition, AFFOA is involved in other significant projects, such as advanced manufacturing and digital manufacturing tools that support the scalable production of advanced textile products. These discussions have paved the way for increasing the visibility of AFFOA and the other eight DoD MIIs within the R&E enterprise.
