Precision Inertial Navigation & Positioning On an Integrated Tesseract (PINPOINT)
🏛 DARPA - Defense Sciences Office
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Sep 4, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for research organizations and companies developing advanced inertial measurement technology. Eligible applicants include businesses, universities, nonprofits, and other organizations capable of conducting R&D. Projects must focus on revolutionary sensor architectures that break performance plateaus, not incremental improvements. Work should explore nonlinear physics-based approaches with integrated control systems for tactical and defense applications.
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Program description
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.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- Proposal Narrative (consult BAA for page limits)
- Technical Approach section
- Schedule and Milestones
- Relevant past performance or team qualifications
- Budget and cost narrative
- Organizational capability statements
Program contact
- 👤 DARPA - Defense Sciences Office
- 📧 PINPOINT@darpa.mil
- 📞 571-218-4565
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 12.910 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
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$84,554,520
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$44,089,743
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$36,151,284
-
$33,938,157
-
$29,592,309
-
$28,734,050
-
$26,975,142
-
$26,015,570
-
$25,544,440
-
$25,503,840
Top States by Funding
- CA 22 awards $254.1M
- MA 16 awards $159.2M
- SC 2 awards $91.3M
- MI 4 awards $82.4M
- NY 8 awards $64.8M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 12.910). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $465,182,503 | |
| 2025 | $322,093,385 | |
| 2026 est. | $352,000,000 |
FAQ
Who can apply for PINPOINT?
All responsible sources capable of meeting government needs may apply. This includes for-profit companies, universities, nonprofits, and other R&D organizations.
What is the application deadline?
The fixed deadline is September 25, 2026. Check DARPA's website for any updates or extension announcements.
What types of projects does PINPOINT fund?
Revolutionary inertial sensor research using nonlinear physics. Eligible approaches include electromagnetically levitated proof masses, non-linear resonators, and high-velocity tethered microsystems with adaptive control co-design.
Are evolutionary improvements eligible?
No. PINPOINT explicitly excludes research that primarily results in incremental or evolutionary improvements to existing technology.
What funding instruments are available?
Awards may be structured as cooperative agreements, procurement contracts, or other instruments determined by DARPA.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Frame your proposal around revolutionary physics breakthroughs, not engineering optimizations. DARPA explicitly rejects incremental improvements.
- Emphasize tight co-design of sensor physics with real-time adaptive control. The integration of these elements is a central program theme.
- Clearly explain how your approach breaks the decade-long performance plateau of MEMS IMUs. Be specific about the physics advantage.
- Include realistic timelines and milestones for hardware demonstration. DARPA defense research typically expects prototype progress.
- Address nonlinear dynamics explicitly. Show deep understanding of how nonlinear regimes enable your sensor breakthrough.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Proposing incremental improvements to existing MEMS sensors rather than revolutionary architectures. Treating sensor design and control systems as separate components instead of tightly co-designed. Underestimating the physics complexity or lacking deep theoretical grounding in nonlinear systems.
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