Recap: NextFlex Virtual Workshop: FHE for Automotive Applications

On November 12, NextFlex hosted its first virtual workshop, “FHE for Automotive Applications,” with over 200 registered attendees. Historically NextFlex has held two or three technical workshops each year, each 2½ days long, providing the opportunity for the FHE community to convene on a selected technical topic. This one day workshop followed in that tradition, adapted to the current pandemic travel restrictions. The topic was chosen based on strong interest from NextFlex members who have urged NextFlex to consider forming an Automotive Technical Working Group.

The workshop was organized with the assistance of an organizing committee of Industry, Government, and Academic members who helped to choose session topics, identify and invite speakers, and serve as session chairs.

The workshop featured four sessions:

• Session I:  The Role of FHE in Autonomy
  Chair:  Mr. Chris Slesak, SRG Global
  Speakers and topics:  (1) Dr. Dragos Maciuca, Ford Motor Company, (2) Jacopo Alaimo, XenomatiX, (3) Enid Kivuti, Sheldahl Flexible Technologies, a Flex Company
• Session IIA:  FHE in In-Car Informatics – Human Machine Interface
  Chair:  Mr. Robert Irwin, Molex
  Speaker Organizations:  (1) Dr. Margreet de Kok, Holst Center, TNO, (2) Wladimir Punt, Molex, (3) Rick Seger, SigmaSense
• Session IIB:  FHE in In-Car Informatics – Visual Information Displays and Enablers
  Chair:  Mr. Paul Semenza, PDS
  Speaker Organizations:  (1) Dr. Michael Hack, Universal Display Corporation, (2) Dr. Paul Cain, FlexEnable, (3) Dr. Sean Garner, Corning Research & Development Corporation
• Session III:  FHE in Communications and Sensing: Synergies to Automotive
  Chair:  Dr. Eric Forsythe, US Army Research Lab
  Speaker Organizations:  (1) Dr. John Williams, Boeing Research and Technology, (2) Dr. Janos Veres, NextFlex, (3) Christof Landesberger, Fraunhofer Research Institution for Microsystems and Solid State Technologies

The talks and panel discussions are recorded and archived for viewing by NextFlex members in the member portal.

Following the workshop and as we consider the formation of a technical working group focused on automotive FHE applications, we seek robust participation from DoD. Like our other Technical Working Groups, the work of the group would entail roadmapping manufacturing technologies, gaps, and priorities, and we seek to ensure that considerations of ground vehicles and other relevant DoD applications are included in the discussion and the mission of the group. Members and government partners may sign up to join the working group by emailing us about your interest.