ARIA: novel hardware for robotic dexterity
ARIA will fund applicants to create novel robotic manipulators, develop new robotic hardware and control software, or advance relevant technologies including actuation and haptics.
Opportunity Details
When
Registration Opens
15/07/2024
Registration Closes
24/07/2024
Award
Proposals are expected to be between £500,000 and £20m. A total of £57m is available. ARIA will fund up to 100% of costs, but proposals which include a funding contribution are welcomed.
Organisation
ARIA
Breakthroughs in AI are transforming robotic abilities, but compared to staggering advances in computation, the development of robot bodies has stalled in recent decades. Today, robots cannot achieve the flexibility, speed and precision of human manipulation, rendering them useless for many of the difficult or dangerous tasks where we need them most.
The need to improve robot dexterity comes at a critical time. The proportion of the world’s population aged 65+ is set to triple by 2100, while labour deficits for physically demanding work are set to increase.
Robots have the potential to ease these labour shortages and boost prosperity but to do so we must close the gap between what robots and humans can handle.
ARIA are looking to fund an array of cutting-edge research across robotic hardware and advanced simulation to demonstrate a paradigm-shift in robotic abilities.
Our goal: to release the bottlenecks in robotic dexterity and create vastly more capable and useful machines.
ARIA are currently looking for concept papers for this call – please read the full call for proposals [PDF] before submitting.
Concept papers are designed to make the solicitation process as efficient as possible for applicants. By soliciting short concept papers (no more than three pages), ARIA reviewers are able to gauge the feasibility and relevance of the proposed project and give an initial indication of whether we think a full proposal would be competitive.
You will be able to submit a full proposal from 16 August to 19 September 2024.
Who can apply?
ARIA encourage anyone to apply for funding, whether you are a Nobel scientist at a university, a junior engineer at a startup, or a polymath in your garage. ARIA funds individuals and organisations in and outside of the UK, if their work can significantly boost the success of an ARIA programme or otherwise benefit the UK.