FY2026 NITRD Program Component Areas (PCAs)
The FY2026 PCAs described on this page are those used by NITRD agencies in compiling the PCA budget information for the NITRD and NAIIO Supplement to the President’s FY2026 Budget.
- ACNS – Advanced Communication Networks and Systems
- AI – Artificial Intelligence
- CHuman – Computing-Enabled Human Interaction, Communication, and Augmentation
- CNPS – Computing-Enabled Networked Physical Systems
- CSP – Cyber Security and Privacy
- EdW – Education and Workforce
- ENIT – Electronics for Networking and Information Technology
- EHCS – Enabling R&D for High-Capability Computing Systems
- HCIA – High-Capability Computing Infrastructure and Applications
- IRAS – Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems
- LSDMA – Large-Scale Data Management and Analysis
- SPSQ – Software Productivity, Sustainability, and Quality
AI R&D will intersect with multiple PCAs. For example:
- R&D on general methods for machine vision would fall under AI, while R&D on robots, even if the robots employ machine vision, would fall under IRAS. Note that R&D on intelligent autonomous systems that exist only in cyberspace, with no physical embodiment, would be reported under AI.
- R&D on algorithms for computational linguistics would fall under AI, while R&D on the broad problem of human-machine interaction, even if it contains an element of natural language processing, would fall under CHuman.
- R&D on the cybersecurity challenges unique to AI, such as the ability to exploit flaws in an AI system’s goals would fall under AI, whereas AI supporting cybersecurity research would fall under CSP.
- R&D on special neuromorphic computing architectures or chips optimized for neural nets would fall under AI, whereas general research in neuromorphic computing would fall under EHCS.
- R&D that is primarily machine learning would fall under AI, while R&D on the larger data management and analysis ecosystem, even if it contains an element of machine learning, would fall under LSDMA.
