Schedule for 2026: Application Opens on November 1st

Deadline for Applications close on February 16th.

Apply Here via Slideroom

Inquiry: Agents in XR

The XRTC Creative Research Grant, a collaboration between the STUDIO, The Kenner Room, and the Extended Reality Technology Center (XRTC), is now accepting applications for the 2026 cycle.

This cycle is guided by an inquiry into Agents

An agent can be understood as an entity that perceives, reasons, acts, and adapts within XR environments. While applicants are not required to create agential AI systems, we encourage projects that engage with the idea of agency in expansive ways: human or non-human, digital or physical, cultural or speculative.

We invite proposals that ask:

• How might XR environments themselves behave as agents?

• What new forms of storytelling, culture, or critique emerge when agency is distributed across human and non-human participants?

• How do notions of perception, reasoning, action, and adaptation take shape in XR spaces?

As with previous years, the grant seeks to support projects that bend expectations of XR beyond purely practical applications. Projects might be experimental, speculative, or critical.

Process & Support

• Funding: 2–4 projects will be awarded in the range of $1,000 – $8,000, with a total of $20,000 distributed.
  • Project budgets should not exceed $8,000. While proposals requesting more than $5,000 may be considered, there is no guarantee that awards above $5,000 can be fully funded. Applicants are therefore encouraged to propose a minimum viable budget that allows the project to be successfully realized with up to $5,000 in support, with any additional costs clearly identified as optional or scalable.

• Eligibility: Open to CMU students, staff, and faculty with creative projects in XR. Collaborative projects with outside partners are welcome if a CMU-affiliated member is part of the team.

• All funded projects will be professionally documented, and this documentation will be shared and screened by the funding institutions to represent XR Creative Research.

• Timeline:
  • Call Launch: December 2025

  • Application Deadline: February 16th 2026

  • Jury Review: Late February 2026

  • Awarded Projects: March 2026

• Award completion: March 2027

• Showcase Opportunity: Selected works may be presented at the SONA: Immersive Storytelling Festival April 2-4 at CMU, creating a platform for public visibility and dialogue.

Projects will be supported by the STUDIO, The Kenner Room, and the XRTC through documentation, mentorship, and dissemination on institutional platforms.

Why This Matters

This year’s theme highlights the intersection of XR, creativity, and the evolving notion of agency. By centering “agents” as both subject and method, we invite researchers and artists to push XR into new conceptual, cultural, and technological territories. The results will not only extend the research impact of the XRTC but also demonstrate the university’s leadership in cultivating unexpected, interdisciplinary, and agentic futures for immersive experience.