IRD Glass will be exhibiting the SPIE Defense & Commercial Sensing conference, which runs April 14-18, and we are looking forward to hearing Timothy Grayson, the Director of DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office.

Small businesses have always played a key role in national security by providing defense agencies with innovative ideas and technologies.

As the pace of discovery in technology and science is accelerating worldwide, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (commonly known as DARPA) needs the participation of small businesses more than ever before.

Toward that end DARPA recently released the 10 focus areas for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which help small companies bring their tech out of the lab into the real world.

10 Focus Areas for DARPA in 2019

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Autonomous Technologies
  • Communications
  • Cyber
  • Directed Energy (Lasers)
  • Hypersonics
  • Microelectronics
  • Quantum Sciences
  • Space
  • Nuclear Modernization

How Does DARPA Fund Innovation?

Last year DARPA allocated roughly $101 million for the STTR and SBIR programs. Both are divided into two phases, each with its own funding caps:

  • Phase 1

Companies may receive up to $251,250 in funding to prove the viability of their technology before building a final product.

  • Phase 2

Companies are eligible for up to $1.65 million in phase two to build their final product. Companies who have already proven the viability of their product may skip Phase 1 and move straight to Phase 2.

SBIR and STTR proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis through Feb. 29, 2020. In addition to the funding sources listed above, companies are also eligible for the first time for an additional $250,000 in Phase 2 funding through the DARPA Accelerator program.

More info can be found here.

Meet IRD at SPIE Defense & Commercial Sensing

Defense & Commercial Sensing, Baltimore April 14-18 2019 — Booth 667

About IRD Glass

For over 37 years, IRD Glass has done things that virtually no one else has with glass and ceramics, and that’s largely because we incorporate lean principles into the R&D process and use a unique cell-based manufacturing approach with small, dedicated teams work on individual client projects.

Our dedication to continual improvement and to taking care of our employees is why we have become a sole-source provider to both large and small corporations across the planet.

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