Precision Inertial Navigation & Positioning On an Integrated Tesseract (PINPOINT)
Closed Posted
- Opportunity number
- HR001126S0016
- Agency
-
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Department of Defense
- Applications due
- Award size
- Not on record
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Cooperative Agreement, Procurement Contract
- Category
-
- Science and Technology and other Research and Development
- Eligible applicants
-
- Other
- Points of contact
-
- BAA Coordinator pinpoint@darpa.mil
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting proposals for research and development of novel inertial measurement units (IMUs) based on revolutionary sensor architectures for tactical and unmanned missions, with full proposals due October 2, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Eligibility extends to all responsible sources capable of satisfying the government's needs—educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and commercial firms. All prime proposers and subcontractors must achieve CMMC Level 1 (Self-Assessment) compliance at the time of full proposal submission. Performers must enter into an Associate Contractor Agreement requiring data sharing among Phase I teams while protecting proprietary intellectual property.
DARPA anticipates multiple awards in the form of procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, or Other Transaction Agreements for Prototype, funded under CFDA 12.910. The Phase I period of performance spans 24 months, with Phase II (24 months) anticipated contingent on Phase I results. Proposals must target either precision strike munitions or unmanned aerial vehicles as illustrative use cases, or propose alternative defense-relevant applications with comparably challenging performance metrics.
Phase I deliverables include mathematical models and simulation results, laboratory demonstrations of all six inertial sensing components by month 12, three functional prototypes by month 21, and five final hardware IMU samples with a Prototype Design Kit and Design Guide by month 24. Key milestones include program kick-off (month 1), preliminary models and simulation results (month 3), PI meeting (month 6), live laboratory demonstration with Allan Deviation measurements (month 12), and sensor demonstration with prototype delivery (month 21).
Proposals are evaluated in descending order of importance on overall scientific and technical merit, potential contribution and relevance to DARPA mission, cost and schedule realism, and proposer capabilities and related experience. DARPA explicitly excludes research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to existing MEMS IMU technology.
Abstract submissions were due August 27, 2026. Questions are accepted through September 25, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. ET. An optional Industry Immersion Program allows industry proposers with university subcontractors to fund one graduate student or postdoctoral researcher for a 9–12 month embedded assignment, with government funding up to $160,000 per student based on availability and merit.
Synopsis
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative proposals in the following technical area: physics and nonlinear control of inertial measurement units (IMUs) appropriate for tactical and unmanned missions. The Precision Inertial Navigation & Positioning On an Integrated Tesseract (PINPOINT) program will challenge the research community to overcome the decade-long performance plateau of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) IMUs by exploring revolutionary sensor architectures that operate in highly nonlinear regimes. DARPA is soliciting proposals for the research and development of novel inertial sensors based on physics such as, but not limited to, electromagnetically levitated proof masses, non-linear resonators, and high-velocity tethered microsystems. A central theme of this program is the tight co-design of the physical sensor package with advanced, real-time adaptive control systems necessary to stabilize and harness these complex dynamics. Performers should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.
Eligibility
All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal that shall be considered by DARPA. See the Eligibility Information section of the BAA for more information.
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