The Bilateral Academic Research Initiative (BARI) Pilot Program is a collaborative international research funding opportunity jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). This program aims to fund high-risk, foundational basic research that supports revolutionary advancements in robotics through embodied intelligence. The goal is to produce significant scientific breakthroughs that could lead to transformative technologies and industries, particularly focusing on future generations of robotics. The program is administered through a competitive, two-stage application process involving submission of white papers and full proposals.

The primary objective of the BARI program is to establish collaborative research between U.S. universities and South Korean research institutions. The 2025 program specifically seeks proposals that explore "Foundational Approaches to Embodied Intelligence for Future Generations of Robotics." This includes work on distributed cognition, responsive materials, neural processing in robotic components, and modular designs that can integrate into complex machines. The research should demonstrate how individual robotic components can possess learning capacity, memory, and intelligence while being compatible with larger systems. Importantly, proposals must also have a strong educational component, emphasizing student training and collaborative team integration.

Funding from the U.S. side is estimated at $6 million to support 3-5 faculty researchers from U.S. institutions over a four-year period, with a ceiling of $1.5 million annually per project. The ROK counterpart, through MOTIE and the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT), will offer up to ₩8 billion to fund the Korean team. Each country will issue its own grant with separate terms and conditions. Proposals must be jointly developed, submitted by the U.S. team, and include separate budgets for each national team.

Eligible applicants include U.S. institutions of higher education with degree-granting programs in science or engineering and ROK research institutions. U.S. DoD labs and federally funded research centers are ineligible for direct or sub-award funding. Cost sharing is not required. Proposals must include detailed disclosures of conflicts of interest and are subject to proprietary data protections, although Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provisions still apply.

Applicants must follow a strict timeline: white papers are due by May 30, 2025, with full proposals due August 29, 2025. Invitations to submit full proposals will be issued by June 27, 2025. Awards are expected to be announced by September 29, 2025, with project start dates estimated for November 1, 2025. All submissions must be made electronically—white papers via email and full proposals via Grants.gov—and conform to specific formatting requirements.

Applications will be evaluated based on scientific merit, innovation, team qualifications, interdisciplinary integration, alignment with program goals, and student involvement. While feedback may be given for white papers, submission of full proposals without invitation is discouraged but permitted. Applications must include all required forms and demonstrate comprehensive planning, including budget justifications and technical narratives.