Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001714
Facsimile Appearance to Create Energy Savings (FACES) is a Department of Energy ARPA-E funding opportunity aimed at cutting the energy and emissions associated with travel that people do mainly to communicate in person. ARPA-E frames the problem in energy terms: even though telecommunication has improved dramatically, most tools still do not capture key parts of human interaction well enough to consistently replace face-to-face meetings. Because information networks generally use far less energy than moving people by car, train, or plane, ARPA-E treats advanced telepresence as a kind of "digital transportation" that could reduce communication-driven travel by orders of magnitude. The FOA notes that travel for in-person communication accounts for roughly 8 percent of U.S. energy consumption, so if digital alternatives become genuinely preferable, the national-scale energy savings could be very large (on the order of several quadrillion BTUs per year), alongside reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved energy security through lower petroleum dependence.
The core technical vision of FACES is to create communication systems built around "Digital Humans" (DHs). A Digital Human is described as a bandwidth-efficient, three-dimensional digital representation of a person that is nearly indistinguishable from the real communication partner. In practical terms, ARPA-E is not looking for incremental improvements to video conferencing; it is looking for immersive, natural, high-fidelity human representations that can make remote interaction feel close enough to real presence that users voluntarily choose it over physical travel. Just as important, ARPA-E emphasizes affordability and deployability: the resulting systems should have a credible path to low-cost implementation so that adoption is not limited to niche, high-end environments.
To move toward that goal, the FOA highlights three main areas of work. First are advances in real-time capture and digitization of the full human form, including motion capture, coupled with real-time reconstruction and display at the remote end so that the experience is audiovisually realistic. Second are complementary enabling technologies across the full stack, including hardware and software for sensing, capture, compression, reconstruction, rendering, displays, graphics, and networking, as well as any other tools that materially improve the feasibility and quality of DH-based digital transportation. Third is the measurement and evaluation side: ARPA-E calls for studies that define "travel-replacement thresholds" and develop new quantitative metrics for realism and immersion, along with systematic methods to evaluate DH systems. In other words, the program is not only trying to build better systems; it also wants defensible ways to prove, with rigorous testing, that the technology is approaching the point where it can reliably replace trips.
Structurally, this opportunity was issued as Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0001714 under ARPA-E's authorizing statute (42 U.S.C. 16538), with awards made as cooperative agreements and administered under federal assistance rules (2 C.F.R. Part 200 as amended by 2 C.F.R. Part 910). The activity category is science and technology research and development (CFDA 81.135). Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity, subject to any specific clarifications in the FOA). The FOA anticipated about 11 awards, with an award ceiling of $9.5 million. The announcement was created December 8, 2016, and concept papers were due January 16, 2017 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern, with ARPA-E strongly encouraging submission 48 hours ahead of the deadline.
Overall, FACES is best understood as an energy-efficiency program disguised as a communications R and D program: its success metric is not just technical realism, but whether highly realistic Digital Human telepresence can hit quantified thresholds where people stop traveling for a meaningful share of meetings, collaboration, and other communication needs. If that behavioral substitution can be achieved at scale, ARPA-E argues the payoff would be large reductions in travel energy use and emissions, plus broader economic and security benefits tied to reduced fuel consumption.Apply for DE FOA 0001714
- The Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Facsimile Appearance to Create Energy Savings (FACES)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 08, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 16, 2017 Concept Papers are due no later than 500 p.m. Eastern Time. ARPA-E strongly recommends submitting Concept Papers 48 Hours in advance of the 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 $9,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 11 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: 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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FACES (ARPA-E) Grant Opportunity FAQs
What is the FACES funding opportunity?
Facsimile Appearance to Create Energy Savings (FACES) is a Department of Energy ARPA-E funding opportunity focused on reducing the energy use and emissions associated with travel that people do primarily to communicate in person. The program treats advanced telepresence as a form of "digital transportation" that could substitute for trips taken by car, train, or plane.
Why is ARPA-E interested in telepresence from an energy perspective?
ARPA-E frames the problem in energy terms because information networks typically use far less energy than physically moving people. If remote communication becomes genuinely preferable to in-person meetings, ARPA-E expects it could reduce communication-driven travel at very large scale, cutting energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and petroleum dependence.
How large is the travel energy problem FACES is trying to address?
The FOA notes that travel for in-person communication accounts for roughly 8 percent of U.S. energy consumption. The program suggests that, if digital alternatives become compelling enough to replace a meaningful share of trips, potential national-scale savings could be on the order of several quadrillion BTUs per year.
Is FACES just trying to improve video conferencing?
No. ARPA-E explicitly distinguishes FACES from incremental improvements to video conferencing. The goal is immersive, natural, high-fidelity representation that makes remote interaction feel close enough to real presence that people voluntarily choose it over physical travel.
What is the core technical vision of FACES?
The core vision is to build communication systems around "Digital Humans" (DHs): bandwidth-efficient, three-dimensional digital representations of people that are nearly indistinguishable from the real communication partner.
What does ARPA-E mean by a "Digital Human" (DH)?
A Digital Human is described as a bandwidth-efficient, 3D digital representation of a person that is intended to be nearly indistinguishable from the real person during communication. The emphasis is on realism and natural interaction, rather than a typical flat video feed.
What outcomes does ARPA-E ultimately care about?
FACES is best understood as an energy-efficiency program with communications R&D as the pathway. Success is not only high realism, but reaching quantified thresholds where users reliably substitute DH-based telepresence for a meaningful share of trips made for meetings, collaboration, and other communication needs.
What are the main technical areas of work highlighted in the FOA?
The FOA highlights three main areas: (1) real-time capture and digitization of the full human form (including motion capture) plus real-time reconstruction and display for audiovisually realistic experiences; (2) enabling technologies across the full stack (hardware/software for sensing, capture, compression, reconstruction, rendering, displays, graphics, networking, and other tools that improve feasibility and quality); and (3) measurement and evaluation efforts to define travel-replacement thresholds and develop quantitative metrics and systematic testing methods.
What kinds of capture and display advances is FACES looking for?
FACES calls out real-time capture and digitization of the full human form, including motion capture, along with real-time reconstruction and display at the remote end so the experience is audiovisually realistic.
What enabling technologies are in scope under FACES?
The FOA includes enabling technologies across the full stack, including hardware and software for sensing, capture, compression, reconstruction, rendering, displays, graphics, and networking, as well as other tools that materially improve feasibility and quality of DH-based "digital transportation."
Why does the FOA emphasize measurement and evaluation?
ARPA-E is not only looking to build better systems; it also wants defensible ways to prove the technology is approaching the point where it can reliably replace trips. The FOA calls for studies to define "travel-replacement thresholds," plus new quantitative metrics for realism and immersion and systematic evaluation methods for DH systems.
What are "travel-replacement thresholds" in the context of FACES?
They are thresholds intended to indicate when a digital human telepresence experience is good enough that users will substitute it for physical travel. The FOA calls for defining these thresholds and creating rigorous ways to evaluate whether systems are approaching them.
What is the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) number?
The opportunity was issued as Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0001714.
Which agency and program is offering this opportunity?
The opportunity is offered by the Department of Energy through ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy).
What is the legal authority cited for this opportunity?
The FOA notes it was issued under ARPA-E's authorizing statute, 42 U.S.C. 16538.
What type of award instrument does ARPA-E plan to use?
Awards are made as cooperative agreements.
Which federal assistance rules govern administration of these awards?
The FOA states awards are administered under federal assistance rules at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, as amended by 2 C.F.R. Part 910.
What is the activity category and CFDA number for FACES?
The activity category is science and technology research and development. The CFDA number listed is 81.135.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is open to any type of entity, subject to any specific clarifications in the FOA.
How many awards did ARPA-E anticipate making under this FOA?
The FOA anticipated about 11 awards.
What is the maximum (ceiling) award amount mentioned in the FOA?
The award ceiling is $9.5 million.
When was the FOA created?
The announcement was created on December 8, 2016.
When were concept papers due?
Concept papers were due January 16, 2017 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
Did ARPA-E provide any guidance on when to submit concept papers?
Yes. ARPA-E strongly encouraged submitting concept papers 48 hours ahead of the deadline.
What broader benefits does ARPA-E associate with success in FACES?
Beyond energy savings, ARPA-E links success to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved energy security through lower petroleum dependence. The FOA also points to broader economic and security benefits tied to reduced fuel consumption.
What makes affordability and deployability important in FACES?
ARPA-E emphasizes that DH-based systems should have a credible path to low-cost implementation so adoption is not limited to niche, high-end environments. The intent is broad deployability, which is important for achieving national-scale travel and energy reductions.
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