National Robotics Initiative

National Robotics Initiative is sponsored by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in partnership with NASA, NIH, and USDA. The goal of the National Robotics Initiative is to accelerate the development and use of robots in the United States that work beside, or cooperatively with, people.

NSF 11-553: National Robotics Initiative (NRI-3. 0) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Archived funding opportunity This solicitation is archived. Important information for proposers and award recipients All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements .

All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions . NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects. NSF 11-553: National Robotics Initiative (NRI) The realization of co-robots acting in direct support of individuals and groups Download the solicitation (PDF, 0.

9mb) National Science Foundation Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering Division of Information & Intelligent Systems Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences Directorate for Engineering Directorate for Education & Human Resources National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institute on Aging National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering National Center for Research Resources Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institute of Nursing Research U.S. Dept.

of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture National Aeronautics and Space Administration Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Game Changing Technology Division Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p. m. proposer's local time) : October 1, Annually Thereafter December 15, Annually Thereafter Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.

m. proposer's local time): November 3, Annually Thereafter January 18, Annually Thereafter Important Information And Revision Notes Public Briefings : One or more collaborative webinar briefings with question and answer functionality will be held beginning in September, 2011 prior to the first submission deadline date. Schedules will be posted on the sponsor announcement web sites.

Summary Of Program Requirements National Robotics Initiative The realization of co-robots acting in direct support of individuals and groups The goal of the National Robotics Initiative is to accelerate the development and use of robots in the United States that work beside, or cooperatively with, people.

Innovative robotics research and applications emphasizing the realization of such co-robots acting in direct support of and in a symbiotic relationship with human partners is supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The purpose of this program is the development of this next generation of robotics, to advance the capability and usability of such systems and artifacts, and to encourage existing and new communities to focus on innovative application areas. It will address the entire life cycle from fundamental research and development to industry manufacturing and deployment.

Methods for the establishment and infusion of robotics in educational curricula and research to gain a better understanding of the long term social, behavioral and economic implications of co-robots across all areas of human activity are important parts of this initiative.

Collaboration between academic, industry, non-profit and other organizations is strongly encouraged to establish better linkages between fundamental science and technology development, deployment and use. Two classes of proposals will be considered in response to this solicitation: Small projects: One or more investigators spanning 1 to 5 years. Large projects: Multi-disciplinary teams spanning 1 to 5 years.

As detailed in the solicitation, appropriate scientific areas of investigations may be related to any of the participating funding organizations. Questions concerning a particular project's focus, direction and relevance to a participating funding organization should be addressed to the appropriate person in the list of agency contacts found in section VIII of the solicitation.

Cognizant Program Officer(s): Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact. For a full listing of agency contacts see Section VIII.

of this solicitation.

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): --- Agriculture and Food Research Initiative --- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Science) --- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Education) --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering --- Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences --- Education and Human Resources --- National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering --- National Institute of Nursing Research --- National Center for Research Resources --- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke --- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development --- National Institute on Aging Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant or Cooperative Agreement or contract vehicles as determined by the supporting agency Estimated Number of Awards: per year, subject to availability of funds Anticipated Funding Amount: per year, subject to availability of funds Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Organizational eligibility is contained in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG).

Additional eligibility restrictions apply to USDA/NIFA grants (see section IV). The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=gpg .

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: Limit on Number of Proposals per PI: 2 An investigator may participate as PI or co-PI in no more than two proposals submitted in response to this solicitation per year.

In the event that an individual exceeds this limit, proposals received within the limit will be accepted based on earliest date and time of proposal submission (i.e. the first two proposals received will be accepted and the remainder will be returned without review). No exceptions will be made.

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation may not duplicate or be substantially similar to other proposals concurrently under consideration by other NSF, NASA, NIH or USDA programs or study sections. Duplicate or substantially similar proposals will be returned without review. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A.

Proposal Preparation Instructions Letters of Intent: Submission of Letters of Intent is required. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not Applicable Full Proposals submitted via FastLane: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, Part I: Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Guidelines apply.

The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ.

jsp? ods_key=gpg . Full Proposals submitted via Grants.

gov: NSF Grants. gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants. gov Guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide is available on the Grants. gov website and on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=grantsgovguide ) Cost Sharing Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: For NSF, Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Guidelines apply. For NIH, indirect costs on foreign subawards/subcontracts will be limited to eight (8) percent. For awards made by USDA/NIFA: Section 7132 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act amended section 1462 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

3310), increasing the limit on recovery of indirect costs from 20 percent to 22 percent of total Federal funds provided under the award. Therefore, the recovery of indirect costs on awards made by NIFA under this program area may not exceed the lesser of the institution's official negotiated indirect cost rate or the equivalent of 22 percent of total Federal funds awarded. Other Budgetary Limitations: Other budgetary limitations apply.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p. m.

proposer's local time) : October 1, Annually Thereafter December 15, Annually Thereafter Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m. proposer's local time): November 3, Annually Thereafter January 18, Annually Thereafter Proposal Review Information Criteria National Science Board approved criteria.

Additional merit review considerations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Award Administration Information Additional award conditions apply.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

The goal of the National Robotics Initiative is to accelerate the development and use of robots in the United States that work beside, or cooperatively with, people.

Innovative robotics research and applications emphasizing the realization of such co-robots acting in direct support of and in a symbiotic relationship with human partners is supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This solicitation describes the goals and features of this National Robotics Initiative (NRI) with particular attention to fundamental research and education by academia and industry built on open platforms, enabling demonstration systems and transfer to commercial exploitation. Considerations that apply to basic research grants are outlined in the Program Description in section II.

A Research; more detailed information on the domain-specific interests of NASA, NIH, and USDA is briefly described in sections II. A. 2, and additional clarification may be obtained directly from them.

Within NSF, NRI is administered jointly by the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering and the Directorate for Engineering. Supporting Directorates include the Directorate for Education and Human Resources and the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.

Within NASA, NRI Phase I is administered by the Office of the Chief Technologist, with sponsoring Directorates in Science, Exploration, Space Operations and Aeronautics Research. Within the NIH, NRI is led by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, and is supported by multiple Institutes and Centers of the NIH. Within USDA, NRI is led by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Contacts for these and related activities at other sponsoring agencies are referenced in section VIII of this document. Over the past five years, tremendous advancements in robotics technology have enabled a new generation of products in industries as diverse as manufacturing, logistics, medicine, healthcare, military, agriculture, and consumer products.

It is becoming increasingly evident that these early, next generation products are a harbinger of numerous, large scale, and global, robotics technology markets likely to develop in the coming decade.

Additionally, robotics science and technology together with the science of learning have the potential to play a very important role in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education as a unique, integrative discipline that brings together basic science, applied engineering and creative thinking.

The US robotics industry largely collapsed in the 1980's, with a substantial market share decline to below 10% of global sales. In the last 20 years this market has revived, with the industrial robot manipulators of the 1980's now being augmented with new and different forms of robots. Surgical robots, sentry robots, and household robots emerged as new sub-markets presently exceeding the industrial robot sector.

Although the industrial robots for manufacturing (e.g., for welding, painting, handling) are still dominated by foreign industry, new market for service robots were created by US inventors, US Government initiatives, and US investors and are now dominated by US industry.

One of the key discriminators between the industrial robot and these new robotic systems is the assumption of complete isolation of the industrial robot from humans; such large, fast and dangerous machines are best left alone. The new markets focus on robots that work beside, or cooperatively with, people to extend or augment human capacities.

To assess the opportunities and challenges for a national robotics initiative, over 140 robotics experts from industry, laboratories, and universities from across the country joined forces to produce a definitive report entitled A Roadmap for US Robotics- From Internet to Robotics ( http://www. us-robotics. usreports/CCC%20Report.

pdf ). Other informative reference reports include the Office of the Secretary of Defense Unmanned Systems Roadmap (2009-2034) ( http://www. dtic.

milcgi-bin/GetTRDoc? Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc. pdf&AD=ADA522247 ) and the WTEC Panel Report on International Assessment of Research and Development In Robotics ( http://www.

wtec. orgrobotics/report/screen-robotics-final-report. pdf ).

Robotics encompasses a broad array of integrated actuation, electronic, sensor, software, man-machine interface, and other enabling technologies to produce next generation, intelligent devices, platforms, vehicles, and other products that operate with ever-increasing levels of intelligence, safety and autonomy.

To varying degrees, such solutions automatically perceive, monitor, and map their surroundings; locate, detect and identify objects of interest; make decisions based on an understanding of their environment and various user inputs; and take the appropriate, necessary actions. The report suggests ways in which robots in the future can serve as our co-workers , our co-protectors , and our co-inhabitants .

This theme recognizes the emerging mechanical, electrical and software technologies that will make the next generation of robotic systems able to safely co-exist in close proximity to humans in the pursuit of mundane, dangerous, precise or expensive tasks. Co-robots will need to establish a symbiotic relationship with their human partners, each leveraging their relative strengths in the planning and performance of a task.

This means, among other things, that for broad diffusion, access, and use (and hence, to achieve societal impacts), co-robots must be relatively cheap, easy to use, and available anywhere.

As the US population ages and becomes more culturally and linguistically diverse, these co-robots may serve to increase the efficiency, productivity and safety of individuals in all activities and phases of life, and their ubiquitous deployment has the potential to measurably improve the state of national health, education and learning, personal and public safety, security, the character and composition of a heterogeneous workforce, and the economy, more generally.

Widespread deployment may also pose ethical issues and exacerbate disparities among social, linguistic and demographic groups. Thus, basic social, economic, and behavioral research is a critical element in understanding and modeling both the individual and aggregate human/co-robot interactions.

To help achieve these goals, the National Robotics Initiative aims to: Pursue fundamental research in robotics science and technology and in supporting specialties in machine cognition, language understanding and production, human-robot interaction, perception, systems and other disciplines relevant to co-robot capability and performance.

Explore how co-robotics designs can be enhanced by leveraging and integrating our understanding of human cognition, perception, action control, linguistics, and developmental science. Establish open system robotics architectures and common hardware and software platforms enabling the technical community to build upon and interface to a layered capability or functional model and set of protocols.

Create a repository of software, hardware and data to encourage sharing of results and coordination of efforts on hardware and software, and contributions from users and "citizen engineers", and create the cyberinfrastructure to enable cloud robotics. Data will include standard test sets and specifications for common performance measures of algorithms and systems to encourage use of domain-specific metrics.

Sponsor a range of projects from one or more investigators to multi-faceted collaborative efforts that may include academic and industrial scientists in the core technologies; domain application specialists; educators; and social, behavioral and economic scientists. Develop an understanding of the long term social, behavioral and economic implications of co-robots across all areas of human activity.

Create testbeds for integration of the outputs of multiple activities and their testing, demonstration and evaluation on high level and complex tasks. Transfer new platforms and/or functional capabilities to agency mission applications and facilitate agency-specific technology demonstrations of robotic systems over the period of the initiative.

Establish competitions among funded projects for best performance of tasks to be defined by the participating program officers and managers. Competing teams may be comprised of individuals or groups with the option of partnering with unfunded collaborators from academia or industry.

Produce empirical findings that contribute to knowledge about the use of robotics to facilitate STEM learning across the K-16 continuum, with particular emphasis being placed on means to stimulate and motivate participation in STEM careers and broaden participation in them.

Coordinate with a separately funded companion effort to generate such advances leading to commercial products and services through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and independent business plan competitions. An NIH Guide Notice (NOT-EB-11-006) is being issued in parallel with this solicitation.

The primary purposes of this initiative are to provide leadership in research fundamental to the development of the next generation of robotics, particularly co-robotics, to advance the capability and usability of such systems and artifacts, and to encourage existing and new communities to focus on innovative application areas.

This Initiative looks to stimulate partnering arrangements necessary to create next-generation operational systems in such areas as manufacturing, space and undersea exploration, healthcare and rehabilitation, military and homeland security, civil and environmental infrastructure protection, food production, processing, and distribution, assistive devices for improving independence and quality of life, and safer driving.

It will address the entire life cycle from fundamental research and development to industry manufacturing and deployment. Methods for the establishment and infusion of robotics in educational curricula and research to gain a better understanding of the long term social, behavioral and economic implications of co-robots across all areas of human activity are important parts of this initiative.

Collaboration among academic, industry, non-profit and other organizations is strongly encouraged to establish better linkages between fundamental science and technology development and use, through partnerships among researchers, applications developers, users and industry. The breadth of fundamental robotics research to be pursued is illustrated in Figure 1, NRI Technology Space.

Topics range from cognition and knowledge representation to architectures and control mechanisms; perception; human-robot interaction, cooperation and adaptation; language understanding and production; multi-networked agents; mobility and manipulation; and human-connected cognitive prosthetics, exo-skeletons and soft (non-rigid) structures. These areas are inclusive to this program, but by no means exclusive of others.

The scope of the application domains perceived as worthy and viable adopters of this technology is illustrated in Figure 2, NRI Application Space. They exemplify the application of robotic systems as co-workers, co-inhabitants, co-explorers and co-defenders. Again, the list in the graphic is inclusive, but by no means exclusive.

Figure 1. Representative NRI Technology Space II. A.

1. Broad-area Research In contrast to current systems that use limited-reasoning strategies or address problems in narrow contexts, new co-robot systems will be characterized by their flexibility, resourcefulness, varied modeling or reasoning approaches, and use of real-world data in real time, demonstrating a level of intelligence and adaptability seen in humans and animals.

Research on relevant aspects of human cognition, perception, and action has the potential to be especially useful in this regard. This type of research may enhance the design of robotic systems by mimicking human reasoning and action planning. This approach may also be helpful for designing co-robotic systems that will be able to fruitfully collaborate with humans.

Thus, the research program is necessarily cross-disciplinary engaging basic research in the behavioral and social sciences, education, as well as computer science and engineering. Fundamental research topics of broad interest across the agencies include, but are not limited to: Problem solving architectures that integrate reasoning, motor, perceptual, and language capabilities and that can learn from experience.

Hybrid architectures that integrate or combine different methods, such as deductive, probabilistic, analogical, case-based, symbolic, or sub-symbolic reasoning.

Cognitive optimization - general-purpose systems that learn to maximize reward or utility, using new, more powerful model-based forms of adaptive approximate dynamic programming (ADP), reinforcement learning or adaptive critics, implemented via universal nonlinear function approximators compatible with massively parallel chips.

Safe and soft (non-rigid) structures and mechanisms with smooth, pliable and reactive surfaces and elastic drive trains and actuators. Computational models of human cognition, perception, and communication for commonsense or specialized domains and tasks, including acquisition and representation of contextual knowledge.

Cognitive prediction - universal learning systems such as recurrent neural networks, which can learn to predict, estimate or model any set of time series, using testbeds ranging from simple time-series to streaming video, including time-series from unknown stochastic dynamic systems sampled from well-defined prior probabilities. Figure 2.

Representative NRI Application Space Novel advances in and integration across areas of artificial intelligence, such as machine learning, planning and navigation, problem solving, knowledge representation, and multi-agent systems. Computer vision systems that address the longstanding problems concerning the recognition and modeling of contours, shapes, regions, objects, people, scenes, events, and activities.

Scaling up of learning systems to handle greater complexity in space and in time, in a mathematically well-grounded way, exploiting fundamental principles such as symmetry in space or multiple time scales (including skill learning and learning how best to decide on the use of skills).

Synergistic and collaborative research on innovative and emerging technologies to improve the intelligence, mobility, autonomy, manipulability, adaptability, and interactivity of robotic systems operating in unstructured and uncertain environments.

Research on application-inspired topics - intelligent and assistive robotics for healthcare, mobile, marine, aerial, exploratory and rescue applications, advanced manufacturing, and social robotics. Research on platform specific topics that are unique to micro- and nano-robotics, neuro-robotics, humanoid robotics, and networked multi-robot team coordination and cooperation.

Research on enabling technologies that support novel approaches and mechanisms for robotic mobility and actuation; new sensors, sensor networks, and related strategies to improve perception, cognition, learning, adaptation, haptics, autonomy, and multi-modal human-robot interaction. Research on controls and dynamical systems; optimization, design, and decision algorithms; and analysis of complex engineered robotic systems.

Research on innovative and emerging robotic technologies for monitoring and surveillance of our environment to improve quality of life. Research on robotic technologies that will enable the development of interactive and adaptive learning environments for learners of all ages, across all domains (e.g. co-robot systems that support personalized learning).

Models of uptake, diffusion, and use among different demographic and social groups, including appropriate incentives and potential disparities and ethical implications; workforce participation among various otherwise disadvantaged groups, including the elderly and non-native English speakers; and models of human-robot collaboration.

Computational approaches and architectures for analyzing, understanding, and generating speech and other communicative forms (e.g., gesture, haptic); interaction of communicative forms; and dialogue, conversation, and cross-language capabilities.

Assistive technologies enabling humans to amplify or compensate for their capabilities, with systems that interpret their intent, make context based decisions, and allow people to operate beyond their diminished or normal physical, cognitive or sensory capabilities, including prosthetics and exo-skeletal augmentation.

We anticipate periodic PI meetings of research investigators, testbed, application and education developers, industrial partners and sponsoring agency representatives. These meetings will be highlighted by technology demonstrations and progress reports, and will provide a forum for all to propose and discuss high-risk, high-return ideas and challenges emanating from academia, industry and government.

PI's are encouraged to have some of their students and postdoctoral fellows involved in NRI projects also attend these meetings. II. A.

2. Sponsoring Agency Mission Specific Research The NSF will consider for funding proposals addressing any of the areas described above in section II. A.

1. , Broad-area Research or others related to and supporting them, as well as those described below in sections II. B and II.

C. Among the participating agencies, NSF strongly encourages potentially transformative research in core robotic technologies and education. NASA encourages robotics research and technology development to enhance NASA's aeronautics and space missions.

NASA seeks innovative proposals that will significantly: (1) extend exploration capabilities beyond human spaceflight limitations; (2) reduce risk and cost in human spaceflight and on-orbit assembly; (3) improve science, exploration mission operations, and launch systems performance; (4) increase the performance of autonomous robotic missions; (4) enable robots and autonomy to be used as a force multiplier; and/or (5) improve autonomy and safety for operating unmanned aerial vehicles.

NASA's top level goals are to: Create and capture new markets for the US robotics industry. Invent new robotic systems for assisting astronauts in dangerous and expensive missions. Develop innovative robotic explorers for missions beyond human craft, extending human reach.

The critical technologies needed to address these needs are summarized in the NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and in particular the Roadmap for Technology Area 4 (Robotics, Tele-Robotics and Autonomous Systems): Sensing & perception: Space-relevant sensors (environment, hazards, etc). Computationally efficient and infrastructure-free navigation (localization, hazard avoidance, etc).

Tactile and force perception for equipment deployment, sampling, repair, etc. Mobility: Systems to improve the transport of crew, instruments, and payloads on planetary surfaces, asteroids, and in-space. This includes active suspension, grappling/anchoring, legged locomotion, freeflying and other transport modes. Manipulation: Systems to improve handling and maintenance of payloads and assets.

Fusing vision, tactile and force control for manipulation. Exceeding human-like dexterous manipulation. Mobile manipulation that is safe for working with and near humans.

Human-system interaction: Systems that enable crew and ground controllers to better operate, monitor and supervise robots. This includes robot user interfaces, automated performance monitoring, ground data system tools, command planning and sequencing, real-time visualization/notification, and techniques for expressing intent between humans and robots.

Autonomy: Software and systems to enable operations of robotic systems in dynamic and uncertain environments with various levels of human interaction. This includes planning and scheduling, robust execution and reasoning, integrated system health management and validation/verification.

System engineering: Robot software and hardware architectures that improve operational robustness and longevity, facilitate maintainability and upgradeability, and reduce costs associated with integration and test. NASA's need to assist humans in space is well aligned with the safety, productivity, interface, and other challenges that co-workers and co-explorers have in common.

NASA is particularly interested in robotic technologies that increase the productivity of human explorers and that allow humans to amplify their capabilities.

NASA's future includes robots that perform pre-cursor work to help prepare for future human activity; robots that go into space with humans as our assistants; robots that work after humans on tasks that complete, complement, or supplement human activity, and robots that are sent to explore beyond the reach of human missions.

More information about NASA's Technology Roadmaps can be found at the following NASA website (look for Technology Area TA04, Robotics, Tele-robotics and Autonomous Systems): http://www. nasa. govoffices/oct/strategic_integration/technology_roadmap.

html . More information about NASA's involvement in the National Robotics Initiative can be found at the following NASA website: http://www. nasa.

govrobotics . More information on NASA solicitations can be found at the following NASA website: http://www. nasa.

govoffices/oct/home/solicitations. html . The NIH institutes support development of robotic applications to surgery, health intervention, prostheses, rehabilitation, behavioral therapy, personalized care and wellness/health promotion.

The most significant challenges will be in addressing safety issues, especially for applications to be used in home settings and surgical settings where integration of complex systems will be required. Development of robotic applications is important to NIH because of the potential significant impact on healthcare in the future.

Human assistive devices will revolutionize healthcare in the next 20 years as much as personal electronics have changed our daily lives in the past two decades. Human assistive devices have the potential to improve healthcare and promote independent living by providing assistance to healthcare providers and to individuals needing care.

Individuals can benefit from robotic applications that aid recovery, restore function, help patients resume of life activities, and improve surgical procedures. Affordable and accessible robotic technology can facilitate wellness and personalized, home-based health care.

Continual health assessment and personalized intervention have the potential to offset the shrinking size of the healthcare workforce and the growing elderly and disabled population.

In the future, robotics that quickly adapt to changes of the user in the environment will enable persons with disabilities to return to the work of their choice, play instruments, perform sports and engage in all aspects of human life with endurance and dignity. Mobility and manipulation aids can significantly improve the independence of the temporarily and permanently disabled.

Robotic assist devices capable of microsurgical procedures will enable surgeons to transcend the physical limitations of the human hand and eye.

Examples of biomedical research and technology development include: Home care, personalized care for special-needs populations Robotic wellness/health promotion Robot-assisted recovery and rehabilitation Robotic behavioral therapy Surgical and interventional robots Robotic replacement of diminished/lost function High-throughput robotic technologies The areas of research and development listed above are meant to be representative and not comprehensive.

Additional areas of NIH scientific and technological interests related to robotics include, but are not limited to, those found in the following Funding Opportunity Announcement for small businesses: http://grants. nih. govgrants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-279.

html The USDA encourages robotics research, applications, and education to enhance food production, processing, and distribution that benefits consumers and rural communities.

In the process, it is expected that projects will engage academia, industry, stakeholders/users, students, and other organizations to identify fundamental research needs and to conduct both basic and applied research, while providing training for the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technologists.

Projects involving the following topics are particularly desired, although other robotics topics will be considered: High-Throughput Robotic Technologies. Examples include the following areas: Automated systems for inspection, sorting, processing, or handling of animal or plant products (including forest products) in post-harvest, processing, or product distribution environments.

Improved robotics for inspection, sorting, and handling of plants and flowers in greenhouses and nurseries, or for handling (e.g., sorting, vaccinating, deworming) large numbers of live animals.

Multi-modal and rapid sensing systems for detecting defects, ripeness, physical damage, microbial contamination, size, shape, and other quality attributes of plant or animal products (including forest products), or for monitoring air or water quality. Multi-Agent Command, Coordination, and Communication.

Examples include the following areas: High-level task planning, execution, and control systems for spatially distributed autonomous or semi-autonomous robots that operate in concert with human co-workers. Communication protocols and standards for inter-agent coordination and unattended collaboration. Distributed intelligence and fault tolerance that will allow high-level task completion despite failure of one or more agents.

All sponsor-targeted proposals: Those proposals that are targeting a specific agency sponsorship should indicate so in the last line of their 1-page Project Summary, e.g., "Requested funding agency:" followed by that agency's abbreviated name, "NSF", "NASA", "NIH", or "USDA", but only if they have previously communicated with a program officer from that agency and received permission or instruction to do so.

Those not so designated will be considered for funding by all of the joint sponsoring agencies. II. B.

Testbeds and Applications This initiative also aims to fund the development of co-robot testbeds for technology testing, demonstration and validation, and as prototype resources for domain communities - technical and non-technical.

Support will be provided for development and implementation of co-robot applications, which demonstrate new technologies and are sufficiently robust and stable to serve identifiable research communities and encourage collaborative work environments. Applications projects are expected to result in enduring environments for research, particularly integration of outputs from multiple projects, learning, and advancing public awareness.

Integration of functional components