Immersive Sciences for Training, Education, Mission Rehearsal, and Operations | N00014 21 S SN03

Opportunity Information: Apply for N00014 21 S SN03

The Department of Defense, through the Office of Naval Research (ONR), issued a discretionary grant opportunity titled "Immersive Sciences for Training, Education, Mission Rehearsal, and Operations" (Funding Opportunity Number N00014 21 S SN03, CFDA 12.300). The call seeks white papers and full proposals for basic research that advances the science behind mixed reality (MR) technologies, with the practical aim of improving how the Navy and Marine Corps train and operate, especially for infantry combat personnel. A major emphasis is placed on small unit leaders, such as squad leaders, because their decisions and situational awareness often drive the performance and safety of the entire unit.

The opportunity is framed around the idea that MR can meaningfully enhance training and real-world operations in two broad ways. First, it can create augmented training environments that simulate mission-relevant terrain, structures, threats, and friendly assets, allowing personnel to rehearse tasks and tactics in a more realistic and adaptable setting than traditional classroom or fixed simulator approaches. Second, it can support operational use cases through heads-up or see-through augmented reality displays that overlay mission-relevant virtual information onto the real environment. In concept, this could include navigation cues, unit locations, points of interest, threat indicators, or task prompts presented in a way that helps the user act faster and more accurately while reducing cognitive burden.

Even though these applications are clearly in view, ONR is explicit that the focus of this program is not simply building a particular training app or fielding a specific prototype system. The core purpose is to develop and mature the underlying scientific disciplines that would make such systems reliable, scalable, and effective. In other words, the program is looking for foundational research that solves the harder enabling problems that sit underneath compelling demonstrations, so future MR systems can be generated, adapted, and trusted across diverse missions and environments.

Two primary research thrusts stand out in the description. One is automated methods for generating content for mixed reality. This points to the need for research into how MR environments, objects, scenarios, and assets can be created quickly and at scale, rather than built by hand each time. In a military context, training and mission rehearsal often demand rapid tailoring to new locations, new adversary tactics, and changing operational constraints. Automated content generation could involve techniques that create realistic scenes, place relevant entities, and adjust scenarios based on training objectives, while still maintaining coherence, plausibility, and usefulness for learning or decision-making.

The second thrust is novel methods for visualization and interaction in augmented reality that are grounded in human factors principles and supported by scientific evidence. This signals that ONR wants research that treats the human user as central to system performance. For squad leaders and infantry personnel, poor AR design can distract, overload attention, obstruct vision, or encourage overreliance on uncertain information. The program therefore highlights the importance of developing interaction techniques and display strategies that are measurable, defensible, and tied to how people perceive, decide, and act under stress. This includes generating guidelines and evidence-based principles for what information should be shown, when it should be shown, and how it should be presented so it improves performance rather than hindering it.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is run by ONR under the Department of Defense, categorized under science and technology and other research and development. It is a grant mechanism with an expected number of awards listed as five, and an award ceiling listed as zero, which typically indicates the ceiling is not specified in the summary record and applicants must refer to the full announcement for funding ranges, constraints, or negotiated budgets. The posting was created on December 17, 2020, with an original closing date of March 9, 2021. Eligibility is summarized as "Others" with a note to consult the detailed eligibility language in the full opportunity text, implying that eligibility may extend beyond standard categories and may include specific conditions or allowable organization types.

Overall, this grant call is best understood as ONR investing in the science that would make mixed reality broadly useful for military training, mission rehearsal, and operational support. It targets breakthroughs in scalable content creation and in AR visualization and interaction methods that are validated by human factors research, with the ultimate objective of enabling small unit leaders and infantry personnel to train more effectively and operate with better situational awareness and decision support.

• The Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Immersive Sciences for Training, Education, Mission Rehearsal, and Operations" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.300.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 17, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 09, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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