This web page on sensor technology is designed to help sensor developers locate SBIR and/or STTR funding opportunities across federal agencies. The U.S. Government is a significant driver of sensor innovation: investing in low cost, portable, easy-to-use technologies to facilitate the collection of real time, reliable measurement information.
You may be surprised to see how many different SBIR and/or STTR research topics relate to sensor technology development. Federal agencies are supporting sensor research and development, purchasing and using sensors, making sensor data and data products available to the public, and investigating how application of sensor technologies can help accomplish the agencies’ goals. The information below will help you explore funding opportunities beyond the announcements you might normally investigate.
Some agencies allow Phase II application submissions from Phase I projects that were funded by a different agency, if the Phase I project is within the scope of the Phase II agency’s goals. The information presented in the table below may help you to identify such opportunities. Grants.gov provides additional information on federal funding opportunities as well as the federal grants lifecycle, policies on grants management, and profiles on grant-making agencies.
For more information, please review table below:
Agency | Agency Interest in Sensor Technology | Grant or Contract | Recent or upcoming solicitation | Success Stories | Program Contact |
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |
EPA seeks sensors that can detect Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act Priority Pollutants with high accuracy and precision, in real time, at low cost. These sensors should either be easily portable or deployable in the field for unattended operation. They should supplement, extend, or improve on existing methods to comply with regulatory requirements, or should make it possible for non-regulated parties (e.g. nonprofit organizations, small businesses, members of the public) to monitor their environment. |
Contract |
One solicitation annually. The 2016-17 Phase 1 Solicitation is OPEN August 30, 2016 – October 20, 2016: SBIR Funding Opportunities TOPICS: III. Toxic Chemicals IV. Water Section I, D, Topic Code 1. (Page 10-11) Lab-on-a-chip sensors for organic pollutants in homes: Lab-on-a-chip sensors for very affordable, in-home, real-time, and continuous measurement and reporting of multiple (not single) organic contaminants at trace (parts per trillion) concentrations that can be easily deployed and results understood by the homeowner or resident. |
1) Hand-Held Sensor for Carbon Dioxide 2) Handheld Microfluidic Device for Cyanobacteria Toxin Detection and Monitoring 3) Low-power, Small Form-factor Benzene Sensor for Mobile Devices-based Exposure Monitoring 4) Hand-held Portable Device to Detect VOCs in Water, Soil & Air Samples
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April Richards; EPA SBIR Website: |
Agency | Agency Interest in Sensor Technology | Grant or Contract | Recent or upcoming solicitation | Success Stories | Program Contact |
Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) |
NIST seeks advancement of sensor technology in areas of measurement and standards to support U.S. industry and trade. |
Grant |
One annual solicitation. Phase I solicitation opened on January 10, 2017 and will close on March 30, 2017. Examples of topics in the FY 2017 solicitation include: 9.03.03.68 Multichannel, Chemically Precise X-ray Pulse Processor 9.04.04.77 Facilitating Security, Reliability, and Privacy in Networked Internet of Things (IoT) Devices |
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Mary Clague; NIST SBIR Website: |
Agency | Agency Interest in Sensor Technology | Grant or Contract | Recent or upcoming solicitation | Success Stories | Program Contact |
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) |
NOAA seeks sensors for detecting and/or accurately and precisely measuring physical, chemical, and biological targets of interest in oceanic (including Great Lakes) and atmospheric systems to provide real- or near real-time data in support of the Agency’s mission to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts. |
Contract |
One solicitation annually. The most recent solicitation was issued on October 20, 2016 and will close January 25, 2017: Link to solicitation. Examples of subtopics in FY16 solicitation include: SUBTOPIC: Sensor System for Measuring Oxygen Demands in Natural Waters (8.2.3D, pg. 73) SUBTOPIC: Innovate Multi-Platform Sensor for Marine Debris and Object Detection and Mapping (8.2.4D, pg. 66) SUBTOPIC: Laser-Based Analyzer for Methane, Carbon and Hydrogen Isotopic Measurements in the Deep Sea (8.2.6R, pg. 69) SUBTOPIC: Miniaturized CO Detector for Airborne Use on Small UAVs (8.3.5R, pg. 77) The link above includes a more comprehensive list of subtopics. |
Desert Star Systems LLC develops innovative SeaTag: Electronic Tags of the Future
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Vince Garcia, NOAA SBIR Website: http://www.techpartn... |
Agency | Agency Interest in Sensor Technology | Grant or Contract | Recent or upcoming solicitation | Success Stories | Program Contact |
US Department of Energy |
DOE funds sensor R&D for a broad range of scientific instruments, for the production or delivery of energy, and for applications in nuclear security. Examples include radiation detection for the study of materials and fundamental particles, environmental monitoring to understand climate change and subsurface processes, process monitoring for oil and gas production, and systems for the recording, processing, storage, distribution, and analysis of experimental data. |
Grant |
DOE posts two Phase I funding opportunities each FY and offers a myriad of sensor R&D topics in both solicitations. Those topics can be found here: http://science.energy.gov/sbir/funding-opportunities/.Examples of topics in Release 1 and Release 2 FY17 funding opportunities include: Release 1 19a. Real-Time, In Situ Measurements of Hydrobiogeochemical and Microbial Processes in Complex Subsurface Systems 24b. Front-End Application-Specific Integrated Circuits 24d. Next Generation Pixel Sensors Release 2 17. Sensors and Controls for Fossil Energy Applications 27f. Radiation Hard CMOS Sensors for Detectors at High Energy Colliders 29a. Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (Crosscutting Research) |
A Diode Laser Sensor for High Precision CO2 and H2O Flux Measurements Breakthrough Monitoring Technology Reduces Time and Expense in Solar Cell Manufacturing Process
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Chris O’Gwin, DOE SBIR Website: http://science.energy.gov/sbir |
Agency | Agency Interest in Sensor Technology | Grant or Contract | Recent or upcoming solicitation | Success Stories | Program Contact |
National Science Foundation (NSF) |
The NSF Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program seeks to transform scientific discovery into societal and economic benefit by catalyzing private sector commercialization of technological innovations. The program increases the incentive and opportunity for startups and small businesses to undertake cutting-edge, high-quality scientific research and development. NSF will support high-quality projects on important scientific, engineering, or science and engineering education problems and opportunities that could lead to significant commercial and public benefit if the research is successful. The topics and subtopics guide the logistics of the review process but do not affect award decisions. In fact, NSF recognizes that innovation often can't be categorized. Therefore, proposals are accepted in any areas of technology that show promise of high commercial and societal impact, not just those listed at right and on the NSF website. Any sensor technology that is consistent with these goals would be eligible for funding through this program. |
Grant |
Typically two solicitations per year: one that opens in March with a June deadline, and one that opens in September with a December deadline. Phase I solicitation closes December 6, 2016. Topics: Biomedical (BM) Technologies Biological Technologies (BT) Chemical and Environmental Technologies (CT) Electronic Hardware, Robotics and Wireless Technologies (EW) Internet of Things (I) Semiconductors (S) and Photonic (PH) Devices and Materials M6: Sustainable Manufacturing Technology M7: Manufacturing Processes |
Food-safety testing gets a much-needed makeover Self-assembled nanofibers sniff out explosives Sensitive inline analyzers set to transform the cement industry
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Peter Atherton Prakash Balan Glenn Larsen Rajesh Mehta Murali Nair Ben Schrag Other Topics (OT) Ruth Shuman Jesus Soriano
Anna Brady-Estevez
Debasis Majumdar
Rick Schwerdtfeger
Henry Ahn
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Agency | Agency Interest in Sensor Technology | Grant or Contract | Recent or upcoming solicitation | Success Stories | Program Contact |
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) | The mission of NIEHS is to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. NIEHS supports the development of sensors that can assess personal exposure in population studies using either networks of fixed site or wearable monitors that can measure exposure in real-time with high sensitivity and specificity and/or low cost.
NIEHS is also particularly interested in personal sensors that measure multiple analytes simultaneously or ones that pair exposure assessment with physiological response. NIEHS does not support sensors for ambient environmental monitoring. The NIEHS Superfund Research Program supports sensors for real-time monitoring and detection of toxic chemicals in the environment that are of high relevance to Superfund or other hazardous waste sites (not interested in viruses, agricultural pollutants, petroleum etc). |
Grant |
Three solicitations annually. Upcoming funding opportunities can be found at https://sbir.nih.gov/funding TOPICS: I. Exposure Assessment Tools II. Nano Environmental Health and Safety V. Superfund Research Program |
1) Personal monitor for environmental volatile organic compounds (VOC) 2) Personal exposure monitoring device for the air pollutants as an educational tool 3) Gold nanoparticle-based sensor to measure mercury in liquid or aqueous samples (Superfund) 4) Developments toward Low-Cost, Unattended Vapor Intrusion Monitoring (Superfund) |
Daniel T. Shaughnessy, Ph.D. Health Scientist Administrator & Program Lead. Tel (919) 541-2506 shaughn1@niehs.nih.gov Heather Henry, Ph.D. Health Scientist Administrator Tel (919) 541-5330 henryh@niehs.nih.gov NIEHS SBIR Website: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/funding /grants/mechanisms/sbir/ |
Agency | Agency Interest in Sensor Technology | Grant or Contract | Recent or upcoming solicitation | Success Stories | Program Contact |
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) |
The mission of the NIOSH is to generate new knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health and to transfer that knowledge into practice for the betterment of workers. NIOSH development and application of sensors addresses hazards and exposures ranging from noise, chemicals, and radiation to stress, ergonomics, and work flows. For all types of hazards in the workplace, the objective is to enable operators to anticipate and quickly identify potential overexposures and implement interventions to prevent these overexposures. In May 2014, NIOSH created the Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies. The primary goals of the Center are to develop guidance for appropriate use, validation, and interpretation of direct reading and sensor technologies and will also focus on coordinating a national agenda for their effective application in occupational safety and health. |
Grant |
Specific areas of interest to NIOSH are described in a supplement to the SBIR omnibus announcement beginning on page 158: https://sbir.nih.gov/sites/default/files/2016-2_SBIR-STTR-topics.pdf Current NIOSH extramural research grants in the area of sensors include biosensors for different chemical exposures, wearable monitors for a variety of work sites, monitors that can be used in exposure characterization studies for ultrafine and nanoparticles, and noise dosimeters. The following NIOSH standing research announcement includes interests in sensors and sensor technologies: Additional information about NIOSH goals for extramural research can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/ |
Thermal precipitator description and success story from the NIOSH small grant (R03OH009381, 2008-2010) awarded to Prof. John Volckens (CSU) |
Steve Dearwent, PhD, MPH Tel: 404-498-6382 Mark D. Hoover, PhD, CHP, CIH Tel: 304-285-6374 |
Agency | Agency Interest in Sensor Technology | Grant or Contract | Recent or upcoming solicitation | Success Stories | Program Contact |
U.S. Department of Agriculture |
USDA seeks sensors and sensor networks that can provide high spatial resolution and temporal monitoring of specialty crops. Advances in controls, sensors, networks, and other information technologies that improve the quality and productivity of manufacturing cells, lines, systems, and facilities. |
Grant |
Two solicitations annually. Phase I RFAs are generally released every year in July with due dates in October. Phase II RFAs are generally released every year in December with due dates in February. The most recent 2017 Phase I solicitation closed October 6, 2016: Examples of topics in FY17 solicitation include: 8.13 Plant Production and Protection – Engineering (page 65) Improved crop production methods or strategies that enhance the efficiency of crop production by utilizing innovative methods and equipment for planting, growing and harvesting crop plants, including optimization of inputs and reduction of operation costs by implementing the use of precision farming technology, robotics, sensors, information technology, and remote sensing, etc. High resolution spatial and temporal monitoring of specialty crops to include technologies using sensors and sensor networks (for example, temperature, humidity, drought stress, pest damage, and disease). |
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Scott Dockum USDA SBIR Website: |
Agency | Agency Interest in Sensor Technology | Grant or Contract | Recent or upcoming solicitation | Success Stories | Program Contact |
Joint Science and Technology Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JSTO-CBD) |
The Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD) SBIR and STTR Programs require sensor technologies for chemical and biological detection for both point and stand-off capabilities; medical diagnostics: disease surveillance/detection. Technical challenges regarding chemical agents (and Toxic Industrial Chemicals) include low detection limits (parts per trillion/low parts per billion); low volatility compounds; sensor operation in harsh environments; Power, Size & Weight (SWaP) considerations; minimize false positive/false negative results; easy to interpret data; identify low target analyte concentrations within complex environmental backgrounds and matrices. Biological Threat Materials have a similar set of unique detection and identification challenges. |
Contract |
One announcement annually. Topics are announced in December and announcements open in January and close in February. The FY17 announcement opens on January 10, 2017 and closes on February 8, 2017. View recent or upcoming solicitation: CBD SBIR and CBD STTR Announcements at: http://www.cbdsbir.com/announcements/ Approximately ten SBIR topics and one STTR topic annually based on available funding. CBD171-001 Development of Solid-state Optical Cooler Materials to Replace Conventional Cryocoolers Used for Cooling SWIR and LWIR Infrared Detectors and Focal-plane-arrays CBD171-003 Tomographic Nanoscopy for Pathogen Identification CBD171-004 Open-Path Optical Analyzer for Quantitative Chemical Weapons Detection CBD171-005 Process Development and Manufacture of an Antibody-based Therapy Against Sudan Ebolavirus |
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Larry Pollack |
Last Updated on December 12, 2016