Small Business Innovation Research Program Provides Seed Funding for R&D
AMES, IOWA, APRIL 12 – BRAINSOFT LLC has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $256,000 to conduct research and development (R&D) work on using brainwaves in virtual reality applications.
Brainsoft LLC develops technologies for using human brainwaves to control objects and studies the relations of the human brain activities to the emotional and intellectual states. The project addresses the VR developers’ challenge of creating interfaces that enable intuitive navigation and seeks to provide capabilities for deriving the user’s mental and emotional states, thus facilitating objective user feedback. More information about Brainsoft is at: https://www.brainsofttech.com
“NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering,” said Andrea Belz, Division Director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. “With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs.”
“Brainsoft LLC aims to translate current research advances on intercepting and analyzing human brainwaves to benefit the society. We are working on developing technologies that simplify our interactions with the world and applied research to understand the human behavior.” Dr. Ben Othmane, CEO of Brainsoft LLC, says.
Once a small business is awarded a Phase I SBIR/STTR grant (up to $275,000), it becomes eligible to apply for a Phase II (up to $1,000,000). Small businesses with Phase II funding are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales.
Startups or entrepreneurs who submit a written Project Pitch will know within one month if they meet the program’s objectives to support innovative technologies that show promise of commercial and/or societal impact and involve a level of technical risk. Small businesses with innovative science and technology solutions, and commercial potential are encouraged to apply. All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program, also known as America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process. To learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, visit: https://seedfund.nsf.gov/
About the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Programs: America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $2 million to support research and development (R&D), helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.5 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.
