Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 10 279
Apply for PAR 10 279
- The National Institutes of Health in the education environment health income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Robotics Technology Development and Deployment RTD2 (R43)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.212 Small Business Innovation Research 12.910 Research and Technology Development 47.041 Engineering Grants 93.113 Environmental Health 93.121 Oral Diseases and Disorders Research 93.172 Human Genome Research 93.173 Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders 93.242 Mental Health Research Grants 93.286 Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health 93.361 Nursing Research 93.389 National Center for Research Resources 93.396 Cancer Biology Research 93.837 Cardiovascular Diseases Research 93.846 Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research 93.853 Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders 93.856 Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research 93.859 Biomedical Research and Research Training 93.865 Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research 93.866 Aging Research 93.867 Vision Research 93.879 Medical Library Assistance.
- This funding opportunity was created on Sep 14, 2010 and posted on Sep 14, 2010.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 20, 2010. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following Only United States small business concerns (SBCs) are eligible to submit applications for this opportunity. A small business concern is one that, at the time of award of Phase I and Phase II, meets all of the following criteria 1. Is organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States, which operates primarily within the United States or which makes a significant contribution to the United States economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor Is in the legal form of an individual proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture, association, trust or cooperative, except that where the form is a joint venture, there can be no more than 49 percent participation by foreign business entities in the joint venture Is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States, or it must be a for profit business concern that is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by another for profit business concern that is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States, except in the case of a joint venture, where each entity to the venture must be 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States and Has, including its affiliates, not more than 500 employees. SBCs must also meet the other regulatory requirements found in 13 C.F.R. Part 121. Business concerns, other than investment companies licensed, or state development companies qualifying under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, 15 U.S.C. 661, et seq., are affiliates of one another when either directly or indirectly, (a) one concern controls or has the power to control the other or (b) a third party/parties controls or has the power to control both. Business concerns include, but are not limited to, any individual (sole proprietorship) partnership, corporation, joint venture, association, or cooperative. The SF424 (R and R) SBIR/STTR Application Guide should be referenced for detailed eligibility information.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Robotics Technology Development and Deployment (RTD2) (R43) opportunity, Funding Opportunity Number PAR 10-279, is a multi-agency Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant announcement led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with participation and aligned interests from DARPA, NSF, USDA, and the Department of Homeland Security. Its overall purpose is to push forward practical, high-impact advances in robotics by funding early-stage research and development that can mature into deployable systems, devices, and enabling components. While NIH is the issuing agency, the scope is intentionally broad because robotics touches health, safety, national security, and industrial capability, so applicants are encouraged to propose innovations that clearly advance the state of the art and fit within the specific research objectives described in the full announcement.
The technical focus emphasizes new or improved robotic technologies and devices across several application areas. On the health and quality-of-life side, the FOA highlights robotics for home healthcare and independent living, including systems that can support day-to-day assistance, monitoring, and caregiving in non-clinical environments. It also calls out personalized care for special-needs populations, which can include adaptive assistive robots or interfaces designed around distinct physical, cognitive, sensory, or communication needs. Related to prevention and well-being, the announcement includes robotic wellness and health-promotion concepts, suggesting interest in robots that can motivate healthy behaviors, deliver coaching, or support routines that reduce risk and improve long-term outcomes.
A major segment of interest centers on recovery and clinical support, including robot-assisted rehabilitation, recovery, and behavioral therapy. This can cover systems that help patients relearn movement, regain strength, and improve functional independence, as well as robotics that support therapy delivery or engagement where behavioral and human-robot interaction elements are important. The FOA also points to patient mobility and rehabilitation robotics more specifically, reflecting interest in technologies such as powered mobility aids, robotic walkers, exoskeletons, transfer-assist devices, and other systems that help patients move safely while reducing burden and injury risk for caregivers and clinicians.
Beyond application-driven systems, the FOA explicitly welcomes enabling technologies that can unlock new capabilities across many robotic platforms. Examples listed include high-throughput robotics technologies (often meaning automation and rapid, scalable robotic handling for labs, screening, or repetitive tasks) and advanced actuation described as "better than biology," which signals interest in actuators that exceed human muscle in power density, efficiency, compliance, controllability, durability, or safety. The announcement also highlights dexterous manipulators with tactile feedback, pointing toward grippers and arms that can sense touch, force, slip, texture, or contact geometry to improve fine manipulation in unstructured environments. Another emphasized area is multi-agent command, coordination, and communication, which covers teams of robots (and human operators) working together with shared situational awareness, resilient networking, coordinated planning, task allocation, and safe interaction.
The opportunity also includes workforce and safety-related robotics concepts, such as robotic co-worker assistive technologies, which generally means robots that operate alongside humans to augment strength, reach, precision, or endurance while maintaining safe and intuitive collaboration. In addition, there are explicit homeland security and defense-adjacent topics, including robotics to render improvised explosive devices safe and robotics for cross-border tunnels. These topics indicate interest in robotic platforms and tools that can operate in hazardous, confined, or uncertain environments to inspect, map, manipulate, neutralize threats, or perform remote operations that reduce human exposure to danger.
From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity using the SBIR Phase I (R43) mechanism. The posted and created date is September 14, 2010, with an original and current closing date of December 20, 2010, and an archive date of January 20, 2011, meaning it was time-limited and is now archived rather than open. The listed award ceiling is $100,000, which aligns with a Phase I proof-of-concept style effort intended to demonstrate feasibility, reduce technical risk, and generate data that can justify a larger Phase II development program.
Eligibility is limited to U.S. small business concerns (SBCs). To qualify, the applicant must be a for-profit business with a place of business in the United States and primary operations in the U.S. (or otherwise make a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through taxes or use of U.S. products, materials, or labor). The company must be structured as an allowable legal entity such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation, joint venture, association, trust, or cooperative, with specific limits on foreign participation in joint ventures. Ownership and control must be at least 51 percent held by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens (or by another qualifying for-profit business that is itself majority owned and controlled by such individuals), and the firm, including affiliates, must have no more than 500 employees. The announcement notes that applicants should reference the SF424 (R&R) SBIR/STTR Application Guide for detailed eligibility and application requirements, and it also clarifies there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
The FOA is categorized across multiple funding activity areas, including education, environment, health, and income security and social services, reflecting how robotics solutions can span training, deployment contexts, clinical and public health needs, and human services. It also lists many CFDA program numbers associated with SBIR and a wide range of NIH and federal research domains, underscoring that proposed robotics work may be relevant to diverse disease areas, clinical fields, and cross-cutting technology development programs. For full details, including the specific research objectives and any topic-specific requirements, the announcement points to the NIH Grants Guide page for PAR 10-279. For access or technical issues, the contact provided is the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Robotics Technology Development and Deployment (RTD2) (R43) opportunity?
RTD2 (R43) is a multi-agency Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PAR 10-279) intended to fund early-stage robotics research and development that can mature into practical, deployable systems, devices, or enabling components.
Which agency issues this funding opportunity?
The issuing agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The announcement also notes participation and aligned interests from DARPA, NSF, USDA, and the Department of Homeland Security.
What is the overall purpose of this FOA?
The overall purpose is to push forward practical, high-impact advances in robotics by supporting Phase I proof-of-concept R&D that demonstrates feasibility, reduces technical risk, and generates data that can support a later Phase II development effort.
Is the scope limited to healthcare robotics because NIH leads it?
No. While NIH is the issuing agency, the scope is described as intentionally broad because robotics impacts health, safety, national security, and industrial capability. Applicants are encouraged to propose innovations that clearly advance the state of the art and fit within the research objectives described in the full announcement.
What funding mechanism is used?
This opportunity uses the SBIR Phase I (R43) mechanism and is described as a discretionary grant opportunity.
What is the maximum award amount listed for Phase I?
The listed award ceiling is $100,000.
Is there a cost-sharing or matching requirement?
No. The announcement states there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
Is this funding opportunity currently open?
No. The opportunity is time-limited and is now archived rather than open.
What were the key dates for this FOA?
The posted/created date is September 14, 2010. The original and current closing date is December 20, 2010. The archive date is January 20, 2011.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is limited to U.S. small business concerns (SBCs).
What basic business requirements must an applicant meet to qualify as an eligible SBC?
The applicant must be a for-profit business with a place of business in the United States and primary operations in the U.S., or otherwise make a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through taxes or the use of U.S. products, materials, or labor.
What legal entity types are allowed for applicants?
The announcement indicates the company must be structured as an allowable legal entity such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation, joint venture, association, trust, or cooperative, with specific limits on foreign participation in joint ventures.
Are there ownership and control requirements?
Yes. Ownership and control must be at least 51 percent held by U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens (or by another qualifying for-profit business that is itself majority owned and controlled by such individuals).
Is there an employee-count limit for eligibility?
Yes. The firm, including affiliates, must have no more than 500 employees.
What kinds of robotics projects does the FOA emphasize?
The FOA emphasizes new or improved robotic technologies and devices across multiple application areas, including health and quality-of-life, rehabilitation and clinical support, enabling technologies, multi-robot coordination, workforce-assistive robotics, and certain homeland security and defense-adjacent topics.
Does the FOA include robotics for home healthcare and independent living?
Yes. It highlights robotics for home healthcare and independent living, including systems that support day-to-day assistance, monitoring, and caregiving in non-clinical environments.
Does it cover personalized care for special-needs populations?
Yes. The FOA calls out personalized care for special-needs populations, including adaptive assistive robots or interfaces designed around distinct physical, cognitive, sensory, or communication needs.
Are wellness and health-promotion robots within scope?
Yes. The announcement includes robotic wellness and health-promotion concepts, such as robots that motivate healthy behaviors, deliver coaching, or support routines that reduce risk and improve long-term outcomes.
Does the FOA support robot-assisted rehabilitation and therapy?
Yes. It includes robot-assisted rehabilitation, recovery, and behavioral therapy, covering systems that help patients relearn movement, regain strength, improve functional independence, or support therapy delivery and engagement (including human-robot interaction aspects).
What types of mobility and rehabilitation robotics are mentioned?
The FOA points to patient mobility and rehabilitation robotics, including examples such as powered mobility aids, robotic walkers, exoskeletons, transfer-assist devices, and other systems intended to help patients move safely while reducing burden and injury risk for caregivers and clinicians.
Are enabling technologies and components eligible, or only complete robots?
Enabling technologies are explicitly welcomed. The FOA notes interest in enabling technologies that unlock new capabilities across many robotic platforms.
What examples of enabling technologies are specifically mentioned?
Examples listed include high-throughput robotics technologies, advanced actuation described as "better than biology," dexterous manipulators with tactile feedback, and multi-agent command, coordination, and communication.
What does "better than biology" actuation imply in this FOA?
It signals interest in actuators that exceed human muscle in areas such as power density, efficiency, compliance, controllability, durability, or safety.
What is meant by dexterous manipulators with tactile feedback?
This refers to grippers and arms that can sense touch, force, slip, texture, or contact geometry to improve fine manipulation, especially in unstructured environments.
What does multi-agent command, coordination, and communication cover?
It covers teams of robots (and human operators) working together with shared situational awareness, resilient networking, coordinated planning, task allocation, and safe interaction.
Does the FOA include robotics for humans working alongside robots?
Yes. It includes robotic co-worker assistive technologies, generally meaning robots that operate alongside humans to augment strength, reach, precision, or endurance while maintaining safe and intuitive collaboration.
Are homeland security or defense-adjacent robotics topics included?
Yes. The FOA explicitly includes topics such as robotics to render improvised explosive devices safe and robotics for cross-border tunnels.
What kinds of environments or missions do the homeland security topics suggest?
They suggest robotic platforms and tools that can operate in hazardous, confined, or uncertain environments to inspect, map, manipulate, neutralize threats, or perform remote operations that reduce human exposure to danger.
What funding activity areas are associated with this FOA?
The FOA is categorized across multiple funding activity areas, including education, environment, health, and income security and social services.
Are CFDA program numbers referenced, and what do they indicate?
Yes. The listing includes many CFDA program numbers associated with SBIR and a wide range of NIH and federal research domains, indicating the proposed robotics work may be relevant to diverse disease areas, clinical fields, and cross-cutting technology development programs.
Where should applicants look for detailed eligibility and application requirements?
The announcement directs applicants to reference the SF424 (R&R) SBIR/STTR Application Guide for detailed eligibility and application requirements.
Where can someone find the full FOA details and specific research objectives?
For full details, including specific research objectives and any topic-specific requirements, the announcement points to the NIH Grants Guide page for PAR 10-279.
Who is the contact for access or technical issues related to the announcement?
The contact provided is the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.
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