Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA OH 23 005
The NIOSH Robotics and Intelligent Mining Technology and Workplace Safety Research (U60) opportunity (RFA OH 23 005) is a discretionary federal funding announcement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), administered through NIOSH. It uses a cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning the awardee is expected to work closely with the government during the project rather than operating with complete independence. The overall aim is to support a focused research initiative that advances automation, robotics, and intelligent mining systems in ways that measurably improve safety and health outcomes for workers in U.S. mining operations. The program explicitly ties its purpose to Congressional direction in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 and frames the long-term public benefit as helping drive mining fatalities toward zero over roughly the next two decades.
A central theme of the NOFO is "assured autonomy." In practical terms, this means moving beyond simply deploying autonomous or semi-autonomous machines and instead building confidence that these systems will behave safely and predictably in real mining environments, even under uncertainty, abnormal conditions, or during human-machine interaction. NIOSH is looking for research that proves autonomous mining equipment and robotic systems can reduce risk to workers while still meeting operational needs like productivity and efficiency. The safety focus is not limited to individual machines; it extends to how technologies are designed, integrated, monitored, and governed as part of a larger mining system where people, equipment, procedures, and environmental conditions continuously interact.
The NOFO highlights several impact areas that applicants can address. One major area is human-centered design for automated equipment and for the interfaces and monitoring systems miners use to supervise, interact with, or work alongside automation. This includes designing controls, alerts, displays, and workflows that match real human capabilities and limitations, support good decision-making, and reduce the chances of confusion, overreliance, distraction, or miscommunication between workers and automated systems. Another emphasized area is change management and workforce preparation: developing new methods, guidance, and best practices for integrating technology into operations, training or retraining workers, and evaluating safety as mines transition to more automated modes of work. The intent is to ensure that safety gains are not undermined by poorly managed implementation, insufficient training, or organizational gaps that appear when new technology changes job roles and responsibilities.
The announcement also calls for new methods and evaluation techniques that treat the mine as a system rather than evaluating a single piece of equipment in isolation. This systems approach can include understanding interactions among mobile equipment, fixed infrastructure, ventilation and environmental controls, communications, operating procedures, and the human workforce. Closely related is the push for enabling technologies that support assured autonomy, including improved sensors, data fusion and processing pipelines, artificial intelligence approaches that are reliable and explainable enough for safety-critical settings, and systems that improve situational awareness for both machines and human operators. Finally, NIOSH signals interest in technologies that support miner rescue and post-disaster surveillance, recognizing that robotics and remote sensing can play a role in locating workers, assessing hazards, and collecting information in environments too dangerous for responders.
Eligibility is broad in the general listing (including governments, nonprofits, higher education institutions, and businesses), but the purpose statement makes clear that the program is aimed specifically at universities that have graduate degree programs in both mining engineering and explosives engineering. In other words, while many entity types may appear eligible at a high level, the practical target applicant is an academic institution with the specialized graduate education and research capacity to lead mining-focused robotics and autonomy work. The program anticipates a single award, with an award ceiling of $2,000,000, indicating NIOSH is seeking one high-impact, concentrated effort rather than multiple smaller projects. The announcement was created March 1, 2023, with an original closing date of April 28, 2023, and required electronic submission by 11:59 pm ET on the due date.
Taken together, the opportunity is designed to push mining automation toward safer real-world adoption by producing tools, evidence, and guidance that mines can use to deploy autonomous and intelligent systems responsibly. The emphasis on assured autonomy, human-centered design, systems-level safety evaluation, workforce change management, and rescue/post-disaster capabilities reflects an applied safety mission: not just building advanced machines, but ensuring those machines and the surrounding operational system reliably reduce harm to miners in the environments where they actually work.Apply for RFA OH 23 005
- The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIOSH Robotics and Intelligent Mining Technology and Workplace Safety Research (U60)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.262.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 01, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 28, 2023 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 pm ET on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification), Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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