Special Program Announcement for 2013 Basic Research Challenges in the Science of Autonomy | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced this Special Program Announcement as a discretionary funding opportunity to support 6.1 basic research in the science of autonomy, with an emphasis on foundational, cross-disciplinary problems that matter for naval operations. The core idea is to advance the underlying science that enables autonomous systems to perceive, decide, learn, and operate effectively across multiple domains, including air, sea, undersea, and ground platforms. Rather than focusing on near-term product development, the announcement is aimed at fundamental research challenges that cut across scientific and engineering disciplines and that can unlock new capabilities for the Navy over the long run.

The program identifies five specific research thrusts. The first is "Understanding satisficing in human, animal, and engineered autonomous systems for fast decision making with limited data." This thrust is about how real-world decision makers (including biological and engineered ones) make good-enough choices quickly when information is incomplete, time is limited, and collecting more data is costly or impossible. The intent is to uncover principles, models, and algorithms that allow autonomous systems to behave robustly under uncertainty, using limited observations while still producing effective decisions.

The second thrust is "Cognitively compatible semantic and visual representation of autonomous system perceptual data for effective human/machine collaboration." Here the focus is on how autonomous systems represent what they sense (for example, sensor feeds, detections, tracks, and scene interpretations) in ways that align with human cognition. The goal is better human-machine teaming: systems that can communicate what they perceive and intend in forms that are meaningful to operators, support trust and transparency, and reduce cognitive burden. This includes both semantic representations (meaningful labels, relations, and concepts) and visual representations (displays and visualizations) that help humans understand and collaborate with autonomous platforms.

The third thrust is "Mental simulation as a unifying framework for perception, cognition and control in autonomous systems and dexterous robots." This area emphasizes internal modeling and simulation as a mechanism for intelligent behavior. It points to autonomy that can predict outcomes, imagine future states, evaluate alternative actions, and link perception with planning and control. The mention of dexterous robots highlights manipulation and fine motor control, where the ability to internally simulate object interactions and motion can be central to reliable performance in complex environments.

The fourth thrust is "Structured machine learning for scene understanding." This thrust targets learning methods that exploit structure in the world, such as spatial relationships, hierarchies, constraints, geometry, and context. The intent is scene understanding that goes beyond detecting isolated objects and instead reasons about how elements relate, what is happening, and what those relationships imply for navigation, mission execution, and safety. Structured learning approaches can help with generalization, data efficiency, and interpretability, all of which are important for autonomy in operational settings.

The fifth thrust is "Integrated autonomy for long duration operations." This area is about autonomy that can persist over long time horizons with minimal intervention, which is especially relevant for naval missions that may require extended endurance, remote operations, limited communications, and resilience to changing conditions. Integrated autonomy implies bringing together perception, decision making, learning, system health management, and mission adaptation so the platform can remain effective for long periods despite uncertainty, wear, environmental variability, and shifting objectives.

From an administrative and funding perspective, the opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number 13 SN 0005 under CFDA 12.300 (Basic and Applied Scientific Research). ONR anticipated making about 10 awards, with total estimated funding of $5,200,000. Individual awards were expected to fall roughly between $100,000 (floor) and $150,000 (ceiling). The announcement states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement, and eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to different types of applicant entities as long as they meet any conditions described in the full announcement.

Key dates included an initial posting on December 6, 2012, with creation information recorded March 11, 2013. The original closing date was April 8, 2013, but the current closing date listed is March 25, 2013, with an archive date of May 8, 2013. The funding instruments referenced include grants and procurement contracts, indicating ONR could support work through different award mechanisms depending on the nature of the proposed effort and contracting approach. For applicants needing help accessing the full announcement, the listed point of contact was Contracting Officer Lynnette Desorcie at 703-696-4324, with an email address provided in the announcement, and ONR also pointed applicants to a link compiling ONR BAAs and related opportunities for further details.

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: Office of Naval Research

Browse more opportunities from the same category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development

Next opportunity: Utilizing the PLCO Biospecimens Resource to Bridge Gaps in Cancer Etiology and Early Detection Research (U01)

Previous opportunity: Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) Native American and Alaska Native Children in School Program CFDA Number 84.365C

USGrants.org Applicant Portal:

Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.

Apply for 13 SN 0005

 

[Watch] how do funding administrators access proposals?

Applicants also applied for:

Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (13 SN 0005) also looked into and applied for these:

 

Grant application guides and resources

It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!

Apply for Grants

 

 

Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers

Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.

If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.

Subscribe to Leads

 

Request more information:

Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "13 SN 0005", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:

Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.