DARPA PINPOINT (HR001126S0016): What Your Startup Needs to Know
Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).
Quick Answer
PINPOINT (Precision Inertial Navigation and Positioning On an Integrated Tesseract) is a DARPA Defense Sciences Office Broad Agency Announcement, number HR001126S0016, seeking revolutionary inertial measurement unit (IMU) technology for navigation in GPS-denied environments. DARPA wants novel micro-scale inertial sensors that break past the decade-long performance plateau of MEMS IMUs by using nonlinear physics such as electromagnetically levitated proof masses, high-velocity resonators, and non-linear mechanical structures, all co-designed with real-time adaptive control systems. This is a two-phase program, but only Phase I (24 months) is being solicited now. A conforming abstract is required by August 27, 2026, before any full proposal can be submitted, and full proposals are due September 25, 2026. Multiple awards are anticipated. Award instruments can be procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, or Other Transaction Agreements for Prototype.
Program Snapshot
Program name: Precision Inertial Navigation and Positioning On an Integrated Tesseract (PINPOINT). Funding opportunity number: HR001126S0016. Agency: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office (DSO). Announcement type: Initial Announcement (Broad Agency Announcement). Assistance Listing number: 12.910 Research and Technology Development. NAICS code: 541715. Posting date: August 6, 2026. Anticipated awards: multiple. Point of contact: PINPOINT@darpa.mil.
What Is PINPOINT?
PINPOINT is a DARPA program that challenges the research community to reinvent inertial navigation from the physics up. The goal is a proof-of-concept six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) IMU that delivers navigation and pointing performance approaching that of large, expensive navigation-grade systems, but in the small size, low weight, low power, and low cost (SWaP-C) footprint of modern tactical and unmanned platforms.
The program pairs two things that DARPA considers inseparable. The first is a new class of inertial sensor that operates in a highly nonlinear regime rather than the linear, small-motion regime that today's MEMS devices rely on. The second is an advanced, real-time adaptive control system designed to stabilize and actually harness those complex nonlinear dynamics. DARPA is explicit that these two elements must be co-designed together, not developed separately and bolted together later.
The Problem DARPA Is Trying to Solve
U.S. military operations depend heavily on GPS for positioning, navigation, and timing. That dependency becomes a liability in contested environments where GPS can be jammed, spoofed, or degraded by terrain and weather. When GPS goes down, warfighters fall back on Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), but current inertial technology forces a hard tradeoff.
At the high-performance end, strategic-grade systems such as ring-laser gyroscopes are precise but too large, too power-hungry, and too expensive for most tactical and unmanned platforms. At the compact end, MEMS IMUs are small and cheap, but their performance has been flat for roughly a decade. They suffer from noise and drift severe enough that they become unreliable within seconds. Alternatives such as visual navigation still rely on a baseline IMU, carry their own SWaP burden, and fail in fog, during rapid motion, or over featureless terrain like open water, clouds, and deserts.
PINPOINT is designed to close the gap between the large and costly high-performers and the SWaP-C-constrained tactical systems, delivering navigation-grade behavior in GPS-contested settings. DARPA points to its earlier Highly Accelerated Learning of Vibratory Systems (HALOVS) portfolio as a foundation, noting that resonators operating near the fundamental material fracture limit can offer more than two orders of magnitude improvement over today's devices, and that levitated structures can isolate the sensing mass from its substrate to eliminate anchor losses and environmental coupling.
What DARPA Is Looking For
DARPA wants revolutionary approaches, and it is blunt about what that means. The technical area is the physics and nonlinear control of inertial measurement units for tactical and unmanned missions. Proposers should investigate approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems.
Approaches DARPA specifically invites you to consider include electromagnetically levitated proof masses, non-linear resonators, high-velocity tethered microsystems, and non-linear mechanical structures. Prior participation in a DARPA program is not required, but proposers are encouraged to build on the public science documented in the HALOVS portfolio. The solicitation stays open to alternative approaches, provided you can show compelling evidence that your solution can hit the program metrics within the program timeline.
DARPA also wants more than hardware. Every performer will be required to deliver a comprehensive Design Guide and a Prototype Design Kit (PDK). The PDK must specify the simulated, usable design space and projected performance of the chosen technology platform, so that the delivered sensors can be redesigned as mission needs evolve over time. This is a core deliverable, not an afterthought.
What Is Explicitly Excluded
Research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice is specifically excluded. If your concept is a better version of a current MEMS device rather than a genuinely different physical approach, it will not align with this BAA. During conformity review, a proposal can be deemed non-conforming and removed from consideration if it does not investigate an innovative approach that enables revolutionary advances.
Target Applications and Performance Metrics
Each proposal must focus on a single target application and clearly state its system-level performance objectives, for example a circular error probable (CEP) for a given mission duration. You may submit multiple proposals, but each one must strictly address only one use case. DARPA offers two illustrative use cases with example metrics, and it also welcomes alternative defense-relevant use cases as long as the metrics you propose are at least as challenging.
Use Case One: Precision Strike Munitions
This application prioritizes high dynamic range plus robust shock and vibration immunity. The example Phase I targets are an accelerometer range of plus or minus 1,000 g, a gyroscope range of plus or minus 5,000 degrees per second, vibration survivability of 20 gRMS, shock survivability of 1,000 g, accelerometer noise (velocity random walk) of 10 millimeters per second per root hour, and gyroscope noise (angle random walk) of 1e-4 degrees per root hour.
The example Phase II targets, which are rough order-of-magnitude estimates only, scale up sharply: accelerometer range of plus or minus 10,000 g, gyroscope range of plus or minus 10,000 degrees per second, vibration survivability of 50 gRMS, shock survivability of 10,000 g, accelerometer noise below 1 millimeter per second per root hour, and gyroscope noise of 1e-5 degrees per root hour. SWaP is to be reported in the Design Guide.
Use Case Two: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems
This application prioritizes long-term stability so an INS can support dead reckoning in GPS-denied environments. The example Phase I targets are vibration survivability of 10 gRMS, accelerometer bias instability of 1 microgram measured as Allan Deviation at a 1,000-second integration time, and gyroscope bias instability of 1e-3 degrees per hour measured as Allan Deviation at a 1,000-second integration time.
The example Phase II targets, again rough estimates only, are vibration survivability of 20 gRMS, accelerometer bias instability of 0.1 microgram at the same 1,000-second point, and gyroscope bias instability of 2.5e-5 degrees per hour. SWaP is again reported in the Design Guide.
Alternative Use Cases
DARPA will consider other defense-relevant inertial-sensor use cases. Named examples include space operations, radiation-hard environments, navigation missions with intermediate time-scales, ten-year lifetime operation for ultra-low-power sensor networks, and hypersonic trajectories. If you propose an alternate use case, you must supply performance metrics that are at least as challenging as the examples above, and you must back your target with solid technical validation through modeling, simulation, and any available experimental data. You also need quantitative, measurable end-of-phase milestones, an estimated SWaP, and a clear plan including a description of the fabrication process.
Program Structure and Timeline
This BAA solicits Phase I only. Phase II is described for planning purposes and is not guaranteed.
Phase I (24 months)
Phase I asks performers to first prove out the mathematics and simulation of their nonlinear system and dynamic state estimator, then move to bench-top laboratory testing, and finally validate final designs through operational field-testing at designated Department of War (DoW) ranges. The concrete milestones and deliverables are as follows. At month 1, a program kick-off with presentation materials as a deliverable. At month 3, demonstrate and report preliminary mathematical models and simulation results of the control system and dynamic state estimator. At month 6, a Principal Investigator meeting with presentation materials as a deliverable. At month 12, a live laboratory demonstration and report covering all individual sensing components, meaning three acceleration and three rotation sensors, including angular rate, acceleration response, and Allan Deviation measurements out to at least 1,000 seconds for each sensing axis. At month 21, demonstrate sensors meeting Phase I metrics and deliver a minimum of three functional, packaged prototypes for independent verification and validation (IV&V) at a Government laboratory. At month 24, deliver the final hardware IMU samples for a total of five, plus the PDK and the final report.
Phase I performers must enter into an Associate Contractor Agreement (ACA). The ACA mandates sharing of critical, program-generated data among performer teams to accelerate cross-pollination, while setting up strict firewalls to prevent commercial misappropriation of proprietary intellectual property. This is a meaningful condition to understand before you commit, because it requires you to share certain program-generated data with other funded teams during Phase I. DARPA notes this broad data-sharing requirement will be relaxed in Phase II so industry-led teams can protect proprietary IP around their specific hardware and manufacturing processes.
Phase II (24 months, planning only)
Phase II is included for informational and planning purposes only. DARPA anticipates releasing Phase II proposal instructions to all Phase I performers by around month 20 of Phase I, through a separate solicitation. DARPA is not obligated to solicit Phase II, and the decision to continue will depend on Phase I results and available funds. The objective of Phase II is to improve sensor performance and demonstrate a packaging and ruggedization design that meets specific mission specifications, ending with transition-partner IV&V field testing and delivery of five packaged and tested IMU sensors.
Because of the phased approach, your current submission needs a fully definitized Phase I proposal with enough data for award negotiation, plus only a draft Statement of Work and a Rough Order of Magnitude cost for Phase II for Government planning purposes.
IV&V and Exit Criteria
DARPA describes illustrative test gauntlets. For precision strike munitions, the end of Phase I involves a repeated tri-axial 10,000 g shock survival test (referred to as the Hopkinson Bar Gauntlet), and the end of Phase II involves a live-fire launch from the Army SCAT gun in a surrogate munition, with an operate-through pass criterion requiring continuous accurate angular rate data through the launch event. For persistent autonomy, the end of Phase I involves a 24-hour thermal soak requiring a drift rate under 1.0e-3 degrees per hour at 1,000 seconds, and the end of Phase II involves a multi-hour flight on a Group 2 or Group 3 UAV with a pass criterion of CEP under 0.1 nautical miles per hour against truth data. Performer-defined use cases get a custom lab demonstration in Phase I and a custom field exam in Phase II, with pass criteria set during contract negotiation.
Meetings and Travel to Budget For
All proposals must build the following into schedule and cost. A two-day Principal Investigator meeting roughly every six months, and for costing you should assume these alternate between the U.S. east and west coasts. Regular quarterly teleconferences with the Government team for progress reporting and video demonstrations. At least one site visit per phase by the DARPA Program Manager.
Funding
DARPA does not publish a total program budget or a per-award dollar ceiling for the base Phase I effort in this BAA. That is normal for a DARPA BAA of this type, where award value is negotiated based on the technical and management approach in your proposal. Multiple awards are anticipated. Cost and schedule realism is an explicit and weighted evaluation criterion, so your budget needs to be defensible against your Statement of Work, with labor hours, materials, equipment, fabrication, and travel all substantiated.
For Other Transaction Agreements for Prototype, funding is structured as fixed payable milestones, meaning payment is rendered on successful completion of technically relevant, tangible events on the critical path, documented in the Schedule of Milestones and Payments. Some award instrument types carry specific cost-sharing requirements, so review the instrument-specific instructions linked in the solicitation.
Industry Immersion Program Option
The one concrete dollar figure in this solicitation applies to an optional add-on. Industry proposers that include university teams as subcontractors may propose an optional DSO Industry Immersion Program (IIP) task. It funds one U.S. citizen graduate student or postdoctoral researcher from each university partner to embed within a corporate partner's facility for a nine to twelve month period, with Government funding covering labor, travel, and per diem up to $160,000 per student. Each option is limited to a single student, and the decision to fund an IIP option is made independently of the decision to fund the base proposal.
Who Can Apply
All responsible sources capable of meeting the Government's needs may propose, including both U.S. and non-U.S. sources. Non-U.S. organizations and individuals may participate to the extent they comply with any required nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, and export control laws. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, and minority institutions are encouraged to propose, though no portion of the announcement is set aside for these organizations.
There are important restrictions for certain institution types. University-Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), Government entities, and National Laboratories face limits. DARPA will not establish new contractual agreements for these entities under this solicitation, so a proposal submitted by one of them as prime may be deemed non-conforming. They may participate as subcontractors only under specific conditions, including a clearly defined role with a point of contact and a rough order of magnitude cost placed in the technical proposal only, since the cost proposal must exclude their funding. UARC subawards additionally require an organizational conflict of interest mitigation plan. If funded, these organizations must share their work with other performers on the same program.
Compliance Considerations
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) applies to awards that take the form of procurement contracts. DARPA anticipates that procurement contracts under this BAA will require CMMC Level 1 or Level 2. The Government designates the required level in each resulting contract based on whether the work involves Federal Contract Information (FCI) or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). CMMC Level 1 applies when only FCI is handled and requires implementing the 17 basic safeguarding requirements in FAR 52.204-21, with a current self-assessment recorded in the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS). CMMC Level 2 may apply when CUI is handled on non-Federal systems and requires implementing the 110 security requirements in NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, again with a current self-assessment in SPRS. A valid, current certification at the required level is a condition of award, and the requirement flows down to subcontractors handling FCI or CUI. If you do not hold the required certification at award, you are ineligible for that award, so this is worth starting early. DARPA points to Project Spectrum and the APEX Accelerators program as free resources for compliance and registration support.
Two more considerations matter. Fundamental versus non-fundamental research: proposers should indicate whether their scope is fundamental research, though the Government has sole discretion to decide, and non-fundamental awards can carry publication restrictions requiring DARPA permission before publishing. And DARPA's Fundamental Research Risk-Based Security Review process will produce risk assessments of proposed senior and key personnel on fundamental research awards, adjudicated before final award and run separately from the scientific review.
How Proposals Are Evaluated
Proposals are evaluated on four criteria, listed here in descending order of importance. First, Overall Scientific and Technical Merit, meaning the approach is innovative, feasible, achievable, and complete, with detailed technical rationale, logically sequenced tasks, clearly defined deliverables, and identified technical risks with feasible mitigations. Second, Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission, meaning the effort supports the national security technology base and DARPA's mission to make pivotal early investments, with any intellectual property restrictions not significantly impeding Government transition. Third, Cost and Schedule Realism, meaning costs and schedule are realistic, substantiated, and aggressive but achievable. Fourth, Proposer's Capabilities or Related Experience, meaning demonstrated ability to manage complex efforts and deliver on performance, budget, and schedule.
How to Apply
There is a mandatory abstract phase. You must submit a conforming abstract before you can submit a full proposal. If your abstract is deemed non-conforming, any subsequent full proposal for that abstract will also be deemed non-conforming and removed from consideration. If DARPA does not recommend you submit a full proposal, you may still submit one as long as your abstract was conforming, but a favorable abstract response is not a guarantee of selection. Proposers who do not submit an abstract, or who submit a non-conforming abstract, cannot submit a full proposal.
Key dates, all in Eastern Time. Proposal abstract due date is August 27, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. The question submittal window closes September 15, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Full proposals are due September 25, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.
Submission channels depend on instrument. Proposers requesting procurement contracts or Other Transaction Agreements submit through the Broad Agency Announcement Tool (BAAT). Proposers requesting cooperative agreements submit through Grants.gov and must also complete the SF424 (R&R) Budget form. Required attachments include the Abstract Summary Slide Template (Attachment A), Abstract Instructions and Template (Attachment B), Proposal Summary Slides (Attachment C), the Volume I Technical and Management template (Attachment D), the Volume II Cost template and DARPA Cost Proposal Spreadsheet (Attachments E and F), and, for Other Transactions, the Model OT for Prototype and the Schedule of Milestones and Payments (Attachments G and I). All technical, contractual, and administrative questions must go to PINPOINT@darpa.mil rather than to the Program Manager directly.
Is PINPOINT a Fit for Your Startup?
This is a strong fit if you are a deep-tech or hard-science company working in MEMS, precision sensors, photonics and levitated systems, nonlinear dynamics and control, or advanced microfabrication, and you have a genuinely novel physical approach to inertial sensing rather than an incremental MEMS improvement. It is also a fit if you can partner with a university group that brings the underlying physics, since the IIP option and the ACA structure both anticipate industry and academic teaming. It is a poor fit if your concept is evolutionary, if the core research is already complete and you are really seeking manufacturing funds, or if you have already received a positive funding decision for the same concept from DARPA or another agency, since all three of those conditions can make a submission non-conforming.
The timeline is compressed. With the abstract due August 27, 2026, the practical window to shape a competitive concept, line up any university partner, and produce a conforming abstract is short, so it is worth moving quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DARPA PINPOINT program?
PINPOINT is a DARPA Defense Sciences Office Broad Agency Announcement (HR001126S0016) seeking revolutionary inertial measurement unit technology for navigation in GPS-denied environments. It funds novel micro-scale inertial sensors that use nonlinear physics, co-designed with adaptive control systems, to deliver near navigation-grade performance in a low size, weight, power, and cost package.
When are PINPOINT proposals due?
A conforming abstract is due August 27, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and it is mandatory. The question submittal window closes September 15, 2026. Full proposals are due September 25, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You cannot submit a full proposal without first submitting a conforming abstract.
How much funding does PINPOINT provide?
DARPA does not publish a total program budget or a per-award ceiling for the base Phase I effort in this BAA. Multiple awards are anticipated, and award value is negotiated based on your proposed technical approach, cost, and schedule. The only fixed figure stated is for the optional Industry Immersion Program, which provides up to $160,000 per embedded student.
How long is the PINPOINT program?
Phase I is 24 months. A 24-month Phase II is anticipated but is not being solicited now and is not guaranteed. Only Phase I is open under this announcement.
What kind of technology is DARPA looking for?
DARPA wants revolutionary inertial sensors operating in highly nonlinear regimes, using approaches such as electromagnetically levitated proof masses, non-linear resonators, high-velocity tethered microsystems, and non-linear mechanical structures, tightly co-designed with real-time adaptive control. Evolutionary improvements to existing MEMS devices are specifically excluded.
Can startups and small businesses apply to PINPOINT?
Yes. All responsible sources may propose, and small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, HBCUs, and minority institutions are encouraged, though there is no set-aside. Both U.S. and non-U.S. sources may participate subject to export control and security requirements.
What award instruments are available under PINPOINT?
DARPA may award procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, or Other Transaction Agreements for Prototype. The instrument affects your submission channel, your cost-sharing obligations, and whether CMMC applies.
Does PINPOINT require CMMC certification?
CMMC applies to awards that take the form of procurement contracts, and DARPA anticipates requiring CMMC Level 1 or Level 2 depending on whether the work involves Federal Contract Information or Controlled Unclassified Information. A valid, current certification at the required level is a condition of award, so it is worth starting the SPRS self-assessment process early.
What are the evaluation criteria for PINPOINT?
In descending order of importance: Overall Scientific and Technical Merit, Potential Contribution and Relevance to the DARPA Mission, Cost and Schedule Realism, and the Proposer's Capabilities or Related Experience.
What is the Associate Contractor Agreement requirement?
Phase I performers must enter an Associate Contractor Agreement that mandates sharing certain program-generated data with other funded teams, with firewalls to protect proprietary intellectual property. This broad data-sharing requirement is expected to relax in Phase II so teams can protect proprietary hardware and manufacturing IP.
How do I ask DARPA questions about PINPOINT?
Email all technical, contractual, and administrative questions to PINPOINT@darpa.mil. Do not email the Program Manager directly, as that may delay or prevent a response. The question submittal window closes September 15, 2026.
