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Augmented Virtual and Mixed Reality (AV/VR/MR)

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Technology topic

Augmented Virtual and Mixed Reality (AV/VR/MR)

The Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality (AR/VR/MR) topic aims to support entrepreneurs and startups at the earliest stages of development of innovative, differentiated and novel hardware/software that can create shared experiences to translate research-based insights into commercializable opportunities for scalable, real-world application.

Technologies in this portfolio include those applying AI in education or workforce development, training tools, upskilling an aging workforce, improving health and wellbeing, as well as technologies as an enabling platform to deliver shared experiences, virtual collaboration, and experiential learning.

Sub-Topics

AV1. Differentiated Hardware Technologies for AR/VR/MR
AV2. Differentiated Software Technologies for AR/VR/MR
AV3. UI/UX for Immersive AR/VR/MR
AV4. Advanced Analytics for Collaboration in AR/VR/MR
AV5. Other Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality Technologies





Application process for Augmented Virtual and Mixed Reality (AV/VR/MR) funding

Eligibility for Augmented Virtual and Mixed Reality (AV/VR/MR) funding +
  • Your company must be a small business (fewer than 500 employees) located in the United States.
  • At least 50% of your company’s equity must be owned by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. NSF does not fund companies that are majority-owned by multiple venture capital firms, private equity firms, or hedge funds, to participate in SBIR and STTR.
  • All funded work, including work done by consultants and contractors, needs to take place in the United States.
  • The project’s principal investigator (tech lead) must be legally employed at least 20 hours a week by the company seeking funding. The principal investigator doesn’t need any advanced degrees.
  • The principal investigator needs to commit to at least one month (173 hours) of work on a funded project per six months of project duration.

Evaluation Criteria: What We Look for When Evaluating Augmented Virtual and Mixed Reality (AV/VR/MR) proposals +

Take our project assessment to see if your work might be a good fit for NSF funding.

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