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SUMMARY:[ Facebook Research - Engineering Approaches to Responsible Neural
  Interface Design Request For Proposals | Research Funding ]
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210714
DTSTAMP:20260414T221434Z
UID:13c8213e823ad196baf6bac3683b2598ac1ccf4915ba455233065688
CATEGORIES:Call for proposal
DESCRIPTION:Aim: Facebook is pleased to invite university faculty to respo
 nd to the new call for research proposals on Engineering Approaches to Res
 ponsible Neural Interface Design\, focusing on the development of noninvas
 ive neurotechnologies for human use -animal studies not in scope-. Success
 ful proposals will contribute to the development of inclusive interfaces b
 y considering diversity and broad representation in the proposed research 
 studies. Areas of interest include\, but are not limited to:\n1. Inclusive
  optical neurotechnologies: \nThis topic aims to both identify and address
  barriers to achieving reliable Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNI
 RS) performance across diverse individuals. The focus might be:\n\n	Quanti
 fying performance variability. How does technical performance (e.g. light 
 absorption\, photon count) change across different physical characteristic
 s? What metrics or frameworks should be used to evaluate performance acros
 s demographics and why?\n	Designing for generalizability. What design feat
 ures (e.g. cap design\, source-detector configurations) promote generaliza
 ble system performance across different physical characteristics? How is t
 his implemented?\n	Handling hair. What methods improve optode contact and 
 system fit across different hair types? Evaluations of interest include: d
 ifferent amounts of hair\, different hair textures\, and different hair co
 lors. Forehead and/or wrist measurements to provide baseline data are with
 in scope.\n\n2. Inclusive surface EMG wristband technology\nThis topic foc
 uses on accounting for differences in forearm characteristics across the g
 lobal population. While the proposals should focus on surface electromyogr
 aphy (EMG) systems\, intramuscular recordings to provide ground truth sign
 als are within scope as well.\n\n	Quantifying performance variability. How
  does technical performance (signal quality and/or decoding performance) o
 f EMG recorded at the wrist change across different physical characteristi
 cs (e.g. wrist size\, arm hair\, muscle anatomy differences)? What metrics
  or frameworks should be used to evaluate performance across demographics 
 and why?\n	Designing for generalizability. What hardware features (e.g. el
 ectrode type\, configurations) or decoding algorithms promote generalizabl
 e system performance across different physical characteristics? How is thi
 s implemented?\n\n3. Privacy-preserving methods for handling neural data\n
 Privacy by design is an important aspect of responsible neurotechnology de
 velopment\, and benefits from the proactive consideration and development 
 of privacy-preserving methods and tools. Successful proposals for this top
 ic will surface the privacy considerations related to the chosen technolog
 y and demonstrate the feasibility of a method/methods to protect these dat
 a (e.g. differential privacy\, federated learning\, or other creative meth
 odologies).\nAreas of interest include the following:\n\n	fNIRS data priva
 cy: how does one collect only the minimum data needed for brain-computer i
 nteractions? Is there sensitive information that can be decoded from fNIRS
  data (e.g. cardiovascular information) and what methods can be used to pr
 otect these data while maintaining their functionality for AR/VR interacti
 ons?\n	EMG data privacy: how does one collect only the minimum data needed
  for motor human-computer interactions? Is there sensitive information tha
 t can be decoded from electromyography (EMG)/motor unit data and what meth
 ods can be used to protect these data while maintaining their functionalit
 y for AR/VR interactions?\n\n\nA total of up to five awards are available\
 , worth up to $150\,000 each. Payment will be made to the proposer’s hos
 t university as an unrestricted gift\n\nFunding:  up to $150’000\n\nEli
 gibility: Awards must comply with applicable US and international laws\, r
 egulations and policies. Applicants must be current full-time faculty at a
 n accredited academic institution that awards research degrees to PhD stud
 ents. Applicants must be the Principal Investigator on any resulting award
 .\n\nHow to Apply: Proposals should include:\nA summary of the project (1-
 2 pages) explaining the area of focus\, a description of techniques\, any 
 relevant prior work\, and a timeline with milestones and expected outcomes
 .\nA draft budget description (1 page) including an approximate cost of th
 e award and explanation of how funds would be spent\nCurriculum Vitae for 
 all project participants.\nOrganization details\; this will include tax in
 formation and administrative contact details -please contact the Research 
 Office-. Budgets should be formulated to include 5% overhead (the maximum 
 allowed in the program guidelines).\nDeadline:         July 14\, 20
 21\, 5:00 p.m. AOE\nFurther information\n\n\n	More details on the call can
  be found on the RFP website\n	For any other questions\, contact the Resea
 rch Office.\n
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STATUS:CONFIRMED
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