National Robotics Initiative 3.0 Focuses on Innovations in Integration of Robotics

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued a new National Robotics Initiative (NRI) request for proposals for the next stage of the program dubbed NRI-3.0: Innovations in Integration of Robotics. NRI 3.0 builds upon the preceding NRI programs that promote integration of robots to the benefit of humans including human safety and human independence.

The solicitation has been updated to focus on research in the innovative integration of robotic technologies with all proposals now being submitted through a single class of projects. Additionally, while previous NRI solicitations have emphasized collaborative robotics (i.e. the previous stage of the program NRI-2.0 focused on Ubiquitous Collaborative Robots,) this new solicitation has expanded to include robotic research that does not necessarily emphasize collaboration and NRI-2.0 theme requirements have been largely eliminated. Namely, the NRI program is becoming broader in what sorts of projects it will fund to accelerate the development and use of robots in the United States.

NRI-3.0 is supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including NSF, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

This new solicitation intends to make 15 to 30 awards between $250k and $1.5m in total costs for up to four years. Proposals must be submitted by May 3, 2021 to be considered.

For more information and for details about what kinds of projects each participating agency seeks to fund, please see the full request for proposals: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21559/nsf21559.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click.