Retinal degeneration is being helped by an augmented reality vision

research universities variable focus lenses

Augmented reality usually makes us see things that aren’t really there. But, for some, this tech is helping them see what is there. California startup Eyedaptic is using augmented reality to improve the vision of those suffering from retinal disorders. The company’s prototype is designed to improve reading and everyday tasks in individuals with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Eyedaptic’s AdaptiVu for AMD: sounds confusing, so what is it?

AMD is the number one cause of vision loss in people over 50; more than 170 million people just in the US suffer from it. It occurs when a small portion of the retina, the macular, is damaged or worn down. Right now there’s no cure, just treatments to delay its progression or improve the vision.

Eyedaptic’s device looks like glorified sunglasses, but it’s so much more than that. The adaptive augmented reality software simulates a person’s natural vision. It creates a whole picture for the user, rather than just magnifying what’s in front of them. The battery-powered tech also has built-in training aids for user-friendly setup and use. AdaptiVu was designed alongside ophthalmology retinal specialists, optometrists and occupational therapists, with the hope that people suffering from retinal diseases like AMD can have almost their full vision back.

Eyedaptic won second place at San Diego’s QuickPitch competition this year, beating almost 300 other startups just to be there and taking home $10,000 in prize money. The competition featured 10 biotech and tech startup executives, each with two minutes to convince the judging panel that their company was a promising business venture. And Eyedaptics is proving just that.

AR is the practical person’s VR

While virtual reality (VR) takes you to a whole other world, augmented reality (AR) uses technology to add pictures or other digital elements to reality. Because of this, it’s taking over from VR as some seriously talked-about tech. AR’s full posibilities aren’t yet known, but games such as Pokemon Go, or medical training without the need for cadavers, are proving that it’s going to be a big part of our future.

Are you working with augmented or virtual reality to make medical technology? Did you know your R&D work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Self-driving trucks begin deliveries in Texas.

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Self-driving vehicles have been a massive conversation topic in the past decade, and have revolutionized the way we look at cars. But when you think about these vehicles, it’s usually a small car driving down a quiet street, or reversing into a parking spot. What about self-driving trucks? In August, 16 months after its founding, autonomous trucking startup Kodiak Robotics made its first commercial deliveries in Texas. The company’s fleet of eight trucks set off with human safety drivers behind the wheels, for now. The idea of a 40-ton vehicle being driven by technology might seem daunting, but the technological innovation could save lives and, simply put, it makes sense.

It’s no secret that truck drivers work long, tiring hours. Too often we see articles about drivers falling asleep, or crashing because of a mistake they made due to fatigue. In fact, research has found being tired behind the wheel is just as bad as being over the drink-driving limit. Even when following federal regulations, it’s a major safety concern for truck drivers to be working long, odd-hour shifts and driving a heavy vehicle, on consecutive days. In 2017, there was a national shortage of over 50,000 truck drivers, potentially because of these safety concerns.

But without the trucking industry America would shut down. 75% of the US depends on the trucking industry to make deliveries, according to Teletrac Navman. Truck drivers move about 10.5 billion tons of freight, and drive roughly 125,000 miles, each year.

This high demand, met with safety concerns, is exactly why Don Burnette and Paz Eshel founded Kodiak Robotics. The startup is revolutionizing and re-defining the trucking industry with self-driving freight trucks. This tech not only eliminates the need for tired drivers to be doing long hours, but it also just makes sense. Long-haul trucking involves a lot of highway driving, something structured and predictable, and perfectly suited to self-driving vehicles. Kodiak Robotics says, “As hard as it is to navigate city streets, autonomous vehicles are much closer to being able to drive on more structured interstate highways, which have no jaywalking pedestrians, no aggressive cyclists, and no runaway pets. That’s why we’ve focused on building technology specifically for long-haul trucks driving on highway routes, often referred to as the ‘middle mile’”. These autonomous vehicles also require fewer stops, so more efficient drive times can be accomplished.

The company built its software from scratch, rather than working from existing self-driving tech. In this way, the software is built for the trucks, so there’s no need to adaptor modify. This technology was then tested in simulations, and then on closed roads, before Kodiak Robotics rolled out the real thing across the state.

Before Kodiak Robotics, CEO Don Burnette worked on Google’s self-driving project and autonomous vehicle startup Otto. He says, “As industry veterans, we’ve seen where self-driving technology has fallen short, and have a clear vision for how to make it work and work safely.”

“Our trucks will not drive drunk, distracted or drowsy. Our trucks will never speed, or text while driving. While humans often repeat their mistakes, software learns from them. Most importantly, we will not put a truck on the road without a human behind the wheel until we have proven that our trucks are safer than a human driver. Full stop.”

Are you working with autonomous tech? Did you know your R&D work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

‘Data science’ is not a scary phrase, it’s imperitive for businesses to stay competitive

The New Program Dedicated to Keeping Mississippi at the Forefront of Technology

“Those who own data own the future, but only if you know what data you’ve got,” said Steve Holyer said during his presentation at Big Data LDN. And he’s right. In 2019, data is being created, stored and shared at an alarming rate, but data is useless unless you can collate it, analyze it and learn from it, which is where data science comes in.

What is data science?

If you see dark clouds, you can probably predict a storm. This is because your brain sees and feels this information, and from your past experience you know it means a storm. You probably move inside, because your prediction led you to a logical solution. Scale the clouds up to include data from almost everything – smart phone locations, CCTV footage, grocery store purchases and online searches. Brains get overwhelmed with this much data, but technology doesn’t.

Data science is a combination of tools, algorithms and machine learning that finds patterns from data. It will use known information and historical evidence combined with machine learning algorithms to make future predictions. Data analytics and data science give context and help form patterns – in the information age, this is cruical.

Why is it important?

Firstly, like getting out of the rain, data science can make predictions, which can be adressed and resolved with logical conclusions. Secondly, when data is being collected and collated, anything that stands out is noticed. This means that posibilities of risk and fraud are seen in minutes, not days or months. Thirdly, organizations can see, at a glance, who’s buying what, where and when. By understanding the target audience, any company can improve its customers’ experiences.

Introducing it into business

In the information age, data scientists play important roles in businesses, but not every company has the capacity for them. This is why companies like data.world were created. This Texas software startup creates a searchable, cloud-based catalog of a business’ data. It then uses specific graphing technology to help visually explain and map that data. Think of Facebook’s newsfeed and profiles mixed with Google’s searchability and library of information. data.world’s catalog is an inventory of metadata. The company uses it to classify and filter data, which is then better rediscovered, shared, understood and used.

Are you developing a new data science tool? Did you know your work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. Click here to learn more about our technical expertise.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative. 

First online check in and now online food ordering; how mobile apps are making airports easier

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Sitting at an airport, about to board your flight to the Bahamas for your three week holiday – exciting. Trying to find the closest burger joint, then waiting in a ridiculous line for your food – not so exciting. One Texas startup is easing the pain of airport meals with their new mobile app. 

Grab is a mobile software company that’s modernized the airport experience. They have developed an app that easily connects travelers to their dining needs. It allows people to: search for the food they’re after, find a map of restaurants in the airport, order remotely, keep track of their favourite meals and hold onto the receipts. Since it started in 2015, the company has expanded to more than 37 airports, including Dallas and Austin. Grab is on track to contiue this rapid expansion. This summery they landed one of Texas’ biggest startup deals – a multimillion dollar deal with London-based Collinson Group. 

Grab founder Mark Bergsrud has worked in the travel industry for more than 20 years, and drew on this experience to design the app. “This feels like how mobile check in felt. There was a problem customers didn’t know they had — check in wasn’t that difficult anyway, but to be able to have that control, people love it,” he said. 

And he’s right – technology is constantly making the airport process easier. Twenty years ago travelers would never dream of boarding a plane without their paper boarding pass. But these days, passes can be accessed via smartphones or even smartwatches. Virtual loyalty cards are helping customers shop, access airline lounges, and collect and redeem miles / points without even touching a computer. It’s even common for travelers to receive preflight, personalized emails offering discounts in airport shops, thanks to the sharing of their personal data. In another 20 or 30 or 100 years, who knows what the future of airport travel might look like.

Are you also developing software to make travel easier? Did you know your R&D experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Alabama Ranks 11th for R&D Dollars Received Annually

research and development in Alabama

Reports indicate that an estimated $2.4 billion is spent annually specifically on research and development in Alabama, with the state ranking 11th for the amount of R&D dollars received each year.

Major federal agencies provide R&D funding to Alabama in addition to companies claiming federal incentives such as the R&D tax credit. These include The Department of Defense, which alone accounts for approximately 52 percent of all R&D state funding, The Department of Health and Human Services, which accounts for approximately 6 percent, while the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) accounts for 35 percent. The rest of the federal R&D funding is sourced collectively from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies. Federal R&D grants are provided to university institutions and non-academic institutions in Alabama and companies can also benefit from the federal R&D tax credit.

Some of the units that have benefited from the R&D tax credit and grants in Alabama include the Fish Diseases and Parasites Research Laboratory, DOI’s Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, The National Soil Dynamics Laboratory and the Andrews Forestry Sciences Laboratory. These, alongside others in the state have continually been encouraged to engage in research and development through R&D incentives.

Manufacturing and R&D: What manufacturers should know

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If you think manufacturing is outdated or can’t go hand-in-hand with R&D, think again!

Manufacturing accounts for roughly 60% ($6.7 billion) of all R&D Tax Credit claims by industry—that’s roughly 45% more than the next leading industry, Information Technology (1.8 billion). Qualified Research Activities (QRAs), the activities a company does to improve functionality, performance, reliability, quality, or even cost reduction, doesn’t have to necessarily ‘reinvent the wheel’. A company could be seeking to improve its packaging process to reduce shipping costs and reduce packing waste. Maybe another company has decided to improve its production line to be more efficient and reduce costs while not sacrificing quality. Both of these examples are common within the manufacturing industry, and let it be no surprise that chances are there are QRAs that can be claimed to increase that all important bottom line.

QRAs are only half of the R&D equation. Qualified Research Expenses (QREs) are also applicable to an R&D Tax Credit claim. QREs fall into three categories: payroll, supplies, and contracted research services. These are typically some hefty expenses for any company, but thanks to the R&D Tax Credit, you could save a sizeable amount of money since, as you may have gathered, they are the basis of the R&D credit. It’s important to note that all QREs must be substantiated and documented; we’ll touch on that a bit later.

For payroll or R&D labor expenses, it can include technicians, engineers, chemists, and analysts to name a few. These people are responsible for directly working with the R&D project. In fact, indirect support, such as data collectors or people responsible for cleaning and sanitizing the test site or equipment, can also qualify as eligible labor costs if they are performing specialized work on the R&D project. The amount of labor claimed as an expense to the project should be proportionate to the amount of time spent on R&D. 100% of labor costs are eligible in calculating the R&D tax credit.

Supplies are things that are consumed or expended in the tax year being claimed and have been used up completely in the R&D process. This could include anything from prototypes, models, and other materials used during experimentation.  100% of these supply costs are eligible in calculating the R&D tax credit. Land, property that depreciates, and capitalized equipment do not count as eligible supplies.

Sometimes you might not have the in-house expertise that you need to carry out your R&D project, so you decide to hire outside contractors. Thankfully, contracted research services are also qualified research expenses.  Contracted research services are any outside organizations that assist with research tasks—this includes collaboration with colleges or testing labs. 65% of these costs are eligible in calculating the R&D tax credit.

If you’re thinking “you mentioned substantiating a claim with documentation, but I don’t have any of this,” you’re likely wrong! Here’s a list we’ve compiled based on our years of experience when dealing with substantiation. Documentation includes, but is not limited to: project records/lab notes, innovation logs, design documents for system architecture and source code, background research, records of change, testing protocols, results of records of analysis from testing trials/runs, records of resource allocation, W2’s, invoices, and 1099’s. This list combines documentation that is used to substantiate QRAs and QREs.

Hopefully, as you were reading, you would have begun to recognize the financial benefits of R&D and what can be claimed at your company (or maybe you’re just leisure reading—either way, awareness and thinking is the first step to a successful R&D claim!) If you think you have qualifying projects, contact Swanson Reed by clicking here. We’re happy to help in your claims process!

An Unmanned Future: Austin-based SparkCognition creates UTM solutions

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If you have ever wondered about (or even feared) how unmanned airplanes, air taxis and drones will not crash into each other when on a flight path, wonder no more. Boeing Co., the aerospace manufacturing giant, will partner with Austin-based SparkCognition Inc. to create unmanned traffic management (UTM) solutions. To achieve this, Boeing will use SparkCognition’s AI and blockchain technologies to track and create unmanned traffic routes to ensure safe travel conditions for unmanned air transportation.

“We partner with the world’s largest organizations that power, finance, and defend our society to uncover their highest potential through the application of AI technologies,” mentioned a blurb on the SparkCognition website. Solutions developed by the company are “agile” and can “streamline operations of any size, making it easier to accomplish goals and meet objectives in an expedited manner. These solutions can be seamlessly delivered via the cloud or on devices, and can also run on top of a client’s interface of choice.” It’s also worth mentioning that SparkCognition’s AI solutions lowered the cost of maitenance and improved available for a major aviation operator by 35%.

The company’s AI solutions can also warn of aircraft and asset failures before they occur, thus maximising fleet availability, minimizing unscheduled maitenance, and extending asset life. The company also provides simulated environments in which a user can train and control algorithms and evolve swarm tactics using reinforcement learning.

This promising partnership will also bring about a standardized programming interface to support package delivery, industrial inspection and other commercial applications. SparkCognition has its focus on a number of industries, such as cyber security, manufacturing, financial services, maritime, oil & gas, utilities, defence, and of course, aviation. “The world’s number one aviation leader partnering with the world’s most innovative industrial AI company means that unparalleled experience in safety, innovation, scale, and reliability will be brought to bear to address this monumental opportunity,” Husain said.

For more information on SparkCognition, please click here. For information on this innovative project, please see the video below.

Are you developing UTM solutions? Did you know that you can receive up to 14% back on your research expenses with the R&D Tax Credit? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is a Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

(Virtual) Assistant In a Lab Coat: Atlanta-based HelixAI develops lab companion to complement Amazon’s Alexa

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HelixAI is working to bring scientists a hands-free virtual assistant in the lab. The Helix voice assistant can help scientists to increase efficiency, improve lab safety, and gain visibility, according to the company website. The startup was created by husband-and-wife duo James and DeLacy Rhodes.

“James actually came to me and asked, what would you think about making a digital lab assistant, something that runs off Alexa devices but helps out in the lab,” DeLacy said. “Our goal was to get feedback from scientists and see if this was actually something they were interested in using in their laboratory spaces,” James said.

As a scientist, your hands will likely be occupied when conducting an experiment with chemicals and the like. Helix can access scientific reference information by a simple voice command. Key information, whether public, private, general or specific can also be customized to fit any specific needs, such as those of an individual lab or institution.

Scientific processes also normally require a protocol or repetition when conducting experiments. To avoid creating any new variables in the experimentation process, the testing from yesterday must be repeated in the exact same way. Helix can keep track of and add any protocols, SOPs, and solution recipes, thus helping to avoid any unwanted variables in an experiment. The program can also start where you last ended, even if it has been an extended period of time.

Timers and notifications can be set and sent to a mobile device–never experience an overflowing beaker again. “We work very closely with organizations to talk about their needs and identify the kind of content they would like to get through a digital assistant. Then we build up private skills that only those in their organization can get access to,” DeLacy said.

Helix may also be used to keep track of inventory, record notes during experiments, and manage various areas where custom content can be inserted.

Are you developing a virtual assistant extension? Did you know that you can receive up to 14% back on your research expenses with the R&D Tax Credit? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is a Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Georgia, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

 


 

Smart Cities to Become More Connected, Personalized: MIT-startup Soofa creates digital content board, the Soofa Sign

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What makes a smart city ‘smart’? According to a ResearchGate paper, a smart city is defined as, but not limited to being, “instrumented, interconnected and intelligent.” Based on this definition, Cambridge-based Soofa accomplished just that with its Soofa Sign, which is the first digital bulletin board of the 21st century.

“In any big city, there’s so many things to do. It’s almost an analysis to figure out where to go next, what to do, where are my friends,” Soofa CEO and Co-founder Sandra Richter said. “What this means is, suddenly for the first time, you can share information with your local neighborhood.”

The Soofa Sign is an information sharing platform that has a 42-inch solar powered e-ink display, and members of the community can post announcements via the sign’s content management system (CMS). The Soofa Sign can also display local transit times, PSAs, work of art, and social media feeds. “Soofa makes cities a lot more fun and a lot more connected so that we come back to a bit of a true neighborhood feel,” Richter said. The sign is like a giant Kindle, except it uses less power, runs on renewable energy, and has similarities to a Facebook wall or Twitter timeline. Content contributions, including those previously mentioned, can range from job postings to advertising a business. To do so, one simply goes to talk.soofa.co and registers for the service—convenient and quick when compared to traditional methods. To visually grasp these concepts, check out the video below.

Not only can the signs display curated community content, but they will also collect data, which is meant to assist urban planners and community developers with future building projects. The data collected is not personally identifiable, and Richter commented that Soofa is “trying to get more quantitative data from the health of your public space in a non-invasive way.”

Soofa Signs can currently be found in three American cities: Boston, Las Vegas and Atlanta. For more information on Soofa and the Soofa Sign, please click here.

Are you  also developing new and innovative projects like Soofa? Did you know that you can receive up to 14% back on your research expenses with the R&D Tax Credit? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes. 

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

 

$95 Million worth of grants distributed to small business research and development

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In acknowledgment of the major roles small businesses play in spurring innovation and creating jobs in the U.S. economy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have awarded $95 million worth of small business research and development (R&D) grants.

The grants will be funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology (STTR) programs to 80 small businesses and consisting of 95 grants in total.

The SBIR and STTR programs were created by congress to leverage small businesses to advance innovation at federal agencies.

Below are the selected grants for each of the R&D programs that provided funding for the projects:

  • Office of Defence Nuclear Non-proliferation
  • Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
  • Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  • Office of Fossil Energy
  • Office of Fusion Energy Sciences
  • Office of High Energy Physics
  • Office of Nuclear Energy

Did you know that you can receive up to 14% back on your research expenses with the R&D Tax Credit? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is a Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services to the state of Texas. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.