Sony Research Awards Program
Sponsor/agency: Sony
Program: Research Awards
Description
Global research and development at Sony enables us to foster innovative ideas, which could ultimately lead to future technology advancements and company growth. In order to speed up and expand the creation of new ideas, we would like to partner with universities and research institutes. This partnership will help cultivate advanced concepts and fertilize our own research and development. The Sony Faculty Innovation Award provides up to $100K USD* in funds to conduct pioneering research in the areas listed below:
- Information Technology
- Audio, Music, Speech and Language Processing
- Computer Vision
- Machine Learning
- Cloud Edge System
- Data Science
- RF Sensing
- Communication
- Human Sensing and Interaction
- Robotics
- Human-AI Interaction
- Life Sciences
- Linux System
- Security
- Software Development Technology
- Entertainment Technology
- Affective Computing
- Computer Vision
- Machine Learning
- Robotics
- Audio, Music, Speech and Language Processing
- Location Based Entertainment
- Visual/Visualization
- Device Technology
- Computer Vision
- Optical Metasurface/DOE
- Micro LED Device (under 1μm Aperture)
- RF Sensing
- Silicon Photonics
Solid research is the underlying driving force to crystallize fearless creativity and innovation. While we are committed to run in-house research and engineering, we are also excited to collaborate with academic partners to facilitate exploration of new and promising research. The Sony Focused Research Award provides an opportunity for university faculty, research institutes and Sony to conduct this type of collaborative, focused research. The award provides up to $150K USD* in funds and may be renewed for subsequent year(s).
- Focused Research Themes
- Visual Chain-of-Thought and Simplified Responses Using Visual Elements
- Multimodal Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Creative Assistance
- Next-Gen Communication Paradigms: Semantic and Task/Goal-oriented Communication
- Physics-based Robotics Simulation
- Incorporating New Optical Functions to High-peak-power Solid-state Surface Emitting Laser
- Innovative Visual Technology powered by AI
- AI-based Digital Human Content Creation
- Understanding Gameplay and Game Scenes through Multimodal LLMs
- Encoding and Protocols for Distributed Computing
- Design and Evaluation of an Intermediate Interaction for Integrating Diverse Input/Output Environments
- Flexible Structural Mechanisms Enabling Dynamic Motion Entertainment
Program Summary
Deadlines:
- September 2, 2025: ORS admin review + RGA form due to Joanne Hui
- September 15, 2025 (Due at 2:59 a.m. EST on Friday, Sept 16): Full application deadline
Value: Faculty Innovation Award: Up to $100,000 USD (inclusive of overhead)
Focused Research Award: Up to $150,000 USD (inclusive of overhead)
Indirect Costs: 40% of direct costs
(Calculate overhead by using the total divided by 1.40. For example, if you use the maximum direct costs, the totals would be ($100,000/1.40 = $71,428 USD in direct costs and $28,572 USD in overhead. Or, if you request the maximum amount $150,000 USD, direct costs = $107,143 USD and overhead = $42,857 USD)
Duration: One year, with possible extension
How to Apply:
- Please let Joanne Hui know of your intent to apply.
- View program guidelines and the application submission form. Submission requires proposal (11 pages – 10 pages proposal with references, one page budget summary), CV and budget guidelines.
- Note: Applicants must:
- Review and agree to the 2025 Sony Research Award Program Submission Terms and Conditions
- Submit a signed RGA form and receive approval from ORS before submitting a proposal
Contact: ORS Grants Officer: Joanne Hui
Program information:
Eligibility
Applicant
Sony accept applications from Principal Investigators (PIs) who meet the eligibility criteria below.
- PI's institution: PIs must belong to a university, educational institution, or governmental/non-profit research institute. (E.g. we accept submissions from research institutes that are categorized as governmental and NPO/NGO in nature index tables.)
- PI's position: PIs must be a full-time professor (adjunct professors and adjunct researchers are not eligible) or researcher and be eligible to supervise Ph.D. students at the PI's institution. Full professors, associate professors and assistant professors are eligible to apply. For the UK, this includes Senior Lecturers, Principal Lecturers, Lecturers and Readers who are eligible to supervise Ph.D. students at their institutions.
- Countries: The PI's institution must be in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Co-Applicant
Sony accepts applications that have a PI and one or more co-PIs for the same proposal as long as all co-PIs are from the same institution as the PI. However, only one award is made to the PI and the PI's university/institution if the proposal is selected. All co-PIs must meet the same eligibility criteria as that for a PI and co-PIs will be required to sign program documents.
Additional Information
Multiple Proposal Submissions
A PI or different PIs from the same university/institution may submit more than one proposal for different research topics. However, we ask each PI to please not submit identical proposals and for each PI to not submit more than one proposal for each research topic. Sony will gladly accept an unlimited number of proposals from the same university for the same research topic as long as they each have different PIs. Note that at the bottom of your submission confirmation email, there is a link to resubmit your proposal in the event that you discover that your original had an error or an omission. Please use this link for resubmissions. Do not resubmit identical proposals. Also, please do not submit "test" submissions. In the rare event that you do not receive a confirmation email for your submission, please complete the Inquiry Form available here informing us of your issue.