Request for Proposals: Motor Learning & Neuromotor Ethics

Reality Labs has been exploring neuromotor signals for human-computer interaction (HCI) through the development of surface electromyography (sEMG) wristbands and control algorithms. To foster innovation in this area, and to deepen our collaboration with academia, our EMG Foundational Research team is pleased to invite faculty to submit their ideas to this request for research proposals.

We invite proposals focused on developing optimal and responsible strategies for continuous motor learning to achieve high-bandwidth, expressive, and personalized EMG-based input. We’re interested in several types of strategies, including passive learning, gamification, co-adaptation, and effective feedback mechanisms.

Proposals must address both areas of interest, listed below:

We seek proposals that develop new pedagogical approaches that onboard people to new, high-bandwidth EMG-based controls. Methods should consider leveraging existing human capabilities and/or new algorithmic approaches to shorten the learning curve for EMG-based interactions.

We invite proposals on any of the following types of interactions:

• Using EMG signals to facilitate low-to-no-movement controls
• Non-biomimetic mappings between EMG and computer controls

Intramuscular and/or surface EMG studies (in humans only) and projects with either nonclinical or clinical research participants are in scope.

Proposals must include a discussion of the tradeoff between the target learning time and the bandwidth of the final facilitated control. Project outcomes should include a user study that provides insight into an individual’s willingness to spend time learning the proposed interaction.

Subtopics of interest include the following:

• Exploration of Neuromotor Organization Levels: Investigating different levels of neuromotor organization (MUs, neural drives, muscles, synergies, movements) to identify where signals can be most readily controlled.
• Devolution: Researching strategies that begin with biomimetic actions and gradually devolve them into faster, less effortful, and potentially non-biomimetic learned behaviors.
• Feedback Optimization: Considering and identifying different types of “learners,” and how learning pedagogies can be tailored to their learning style.
• Passive Learning: Investigating methods where users implicitly adapt their motor control without explicit instruction.
• Gamification: Designing and quantifying which aspects of gamified onboarding facilitate rapid skill acquisition and retention.
• Co-adaptation: Exploring approaches where both the user and the system adapt to each over a short period of time to optimize control and performance.

Proposals must focus on projects that can be completed using existing off-the-shelf and/or laboratory-developed EMG technology. The proposal must also describe how the research team would evolve the scale and scope of the project with the advent of consumer wristbands for on-the-go, naturalistic data collection.

Long-term motor learning studies may require large and longitudinal data collections that may lead to a meaningful understanding about individual user behaviors. Proposals must include a neuromotor ethics component that enables scientist-ethicist collaboration on relevant topics, including but not limited to:

• Responsible use of longitudinally-collected motor learning data, which can include tailoring the experience to the user while maintaining data security and/or privacy in service of user value
• Continuing to promote user agency to empower individuals to drive their own unique experience with the technology
• Ensuring that learning techniques are inclusive and work for a wide range of people

Proposals must include a description and justification of the chosen collaboration model between the scientist(s) and ethicist(s) who will be involved in the project.

Proposal details

A total of up to six awards are available (at least four in the United States), worth up to $150,000 USD each. Payment will be made to the proposer’s host university as an unrestricted gift, targeting a January 2026 project start. Teams that are able to publish results are strongly encouraged to choose an open access academic journal.

Proposals should include:

• A project abstract (250 words max).
• A short summary of the project (2 pages max) with a description of techniques, any relevant prior work, and a timeline with milestones and expected outcomes.
• A budget description (1 page max) including the cost of the project and an explanation of how funds would be spent.
• A biosketch or CV for key personnel on the project.
• Organization details: This must include tax information and administrative contact details.

Awards must comply with applicable US and international laws, regulations, and policies.

• Applicants must be current faculty at an accredited academic institution that awards research degrees to PhD students.
• Applicants must be the Principal Investigator on any resulting award.
• Organizations must be a nonprofit or non-governmental organization with recognized legal status in their respective country (equal to 501(c)(3) status under the United States Internal Revenue Code).

Questions and proposals should be directed to neurotech@meta.com. For consideration, proposals must be received by the end of the day on September 1, 2025. Submissions will receive a response in the month of October.

Frequently Asked Questions

Meta wristbands aren’t available for these projects at this time. Teams should use existing off-the-shelf and/or their own laboratory-developed EMG technology for their proposed project. However, please note the RFP language requests that teams describe how the project could evolve if the opportunity to use Meta technology becomes available in the future.

The awards will be distributed as an unrestricted research gift. Teams own the IP and data (per study consent) and are free to publish their findings. We recommend publication in open access journals, where possible, to increase the accessibility of the results.

To us, encouraging scientists and ethicists to build the muscle of finding each other to jointly scope project ideas and collaboration frameworks is an important outcome of the RFP prep! Please consider this to be a key research activity as you scope your proposal (e.g., talking to neighboring departments, looking at recent relevant literature to identify potential collaborators, general networking).

People with subject matter expertise in understanding and scoping the ethical considerations of technology can have varying professional backgrounds. We ask that you justify the decisions you make in scoping your science-ethics partnerships, including the framework of interaction (e.g., there are frameworks that include trainees as well as others that focus on trained professionals) as well as the professional experience of all personnel and how this serves the project.

Meta will only distribute the award (an unrestricted academic gift) to a single institution. After that, any subawards would need to be handled by the PI’s institution.

The upper limit on the budget for this award is $150,000 USD. The funds will be distributed to winning teams as an unrestricted academic gift—Meta treats this as a donation.

We respectfully request that overhead is not applied to this unrestricted gift. Please consult your local contracts/grants office to understand their policies and to plan accordingly in your budget.

The funding is distributed at the beginning of the effort—in their submission, researchers should propose a reasonable timeline required to complete their proposed project. One or two years generally sounds appropriate, but it will depend on the scope of the project.

The abstract is separate from the two-page proposal. References can be on a separate page and are not included in the two-page proposal limit. We are not strict on formatting or font size requirements—standard grant instructions (e.g. size 11 font, 0.5in margins) are reasonable.