Small Business Robotics Research Grants Available

(NASA)

Five U.S. federal departments and agencies announced a joint solicitation for small business research on Robotics Technology Development and Deployment (RTD2). Under this program, small businesses can apply for research funding on a wide range of topics, including robot-assisted rehabilitation, robotics for drug discovery, and robots that can disarm explosive devices.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy identified robotics as one of the administration’s R&D priorities for the government’s 2012 fiscal year budget. The agencies taking part in RTD2 are: National Institutes of Health (NIH), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), National Science Foundation (NSF), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of Homeland Security.

Examples of the scientific interests in robotics for this funding  include:

• Robotics for home health care
• Personalized care for special-needs populations
• Robotic wellness/health promotion
• Robot-assisted recovery, rehabilitation, and behavioral therapy
• High-throughput robotics technologies
• Better than biology actuators (artificial muscles)
• Patient mobility and rehabilitation robotics
• Dexterous manipulators with tactile feedback
• Multi-agent command, coordination, and communication
• Robotic co-worker assistive technologies
• Robotics to render improvised explosive devices safe
• Robotics for cross-border tunnel surveillance and detection

NIH is the receiving agency for applications, which will need to follow NIH’s procedures. Applications are due no later than 20 December 2010. However, letters of intent are encouraged, which are due by 20 November 2010.