Eligible costs include employee wages, cost of supplies, cost of testing, contract research expenses, and costs associated with developing a patent.  On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the bill making the R&D Tax Credit permanent. Beginning in 2016, the R&D credit can be used to offset Alternative Minimum tax and startup businesses can utilize the credit against $250,000 per year in payroll taxes.


Understanding Distribution Center Automation
Companies that offer their products online are challenged with recent consumer demand increases as online shopping becomes more popular. To remain competitive in the market, these companies are “hiring” robots to fulfill some of the tasks human laborers are overburdened with in warehouses and distribution centers.

In warehouses, the most time consuming activity is picking products from shelves once an order is placed. The most effort in this operation consists of the traveling required to pick up the product and bring it to the next location.  Workers walk miles a day to pick and pack items from shelf to box.  With the use of robotics, that traveling task can now be fulfilled by a robot.  Many robots in these settings transport products on the floor, saving time which would have been spent locating products to fill an order.  Now, robots complete tasks of loading and unloading, retrieving and putting away, as well as pallet stacking. On a global scale, the International Federation of Robots (IFR) anticipates a 15% annual growth rate of robot implementation in warehousing and distribution center applications.

ASRS (Automated Storage and Retrieval System) technology is now being employed on a large scale to automate the entire picking process.[ii] ASRS includes computer-controlled systems that facilitate Inbound logistics. Warehouse automation: The next generation. January 27, 2016. Available at: http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/warehouse-automation-the-next-generation/ Global Cold Chain Alliance. Warehouse Automation Trends. Available at: https://www.gccaonline.com/eweb/documents/Warehouse-Automation-Trends.pdf robots to automatically place loads from defined storage locations.  This results in more dynamic and accurate delivery to locations where pickers can retrieve from. ASRS eliminates extensive travel times required in the traditional, manual picking process.  ASRS implementation has also paved the way for the creation of multi-level racking systems in which robo-carts can be instructed to only pick products on a certain level requested by an order.

One of the most tedious warehouse jobs is unloading and stacking. Fortunately, robots are designed to accomplish such tasks with built-in 3D vision sensors. These sensors help robots determine pallet sizes so they place larger pillars on the bottom and smaller ones on the top of a stack. It is anticipated that such robotic developments will not displace workers, however will instead help workers increase their overall efficiency.

Kiva Systems, based in Boston, creates ground-based drones that deliver packages throughout warehouses and distribution centers. In most of its setups, Kiva incorporates custom shelving known as pods. These are mobile and flexible enough so robots can move them easily around a space. A Kiva installation also includes a grid of 2D QR code installed on the floor of the space, an intelligent pack station with scales, lasers, and sensors, and a software system that links these components all together. In 2012, Amazon Inc. bought Kiva for $775 million and has since deployed Kiva robots in its operations. Starting with 15,000 robots, it has since grown to 45,000 robots.  Note that not all Amazon warehouses are now utilizing Kiva robot automation, however those that are have experienced significant expense reductions of 20%, or $22 million in savings per center. This comes as a direct result of increased efficiency. Before the robots, a typical cycle in an Amazon fulfillment center would take 60 to 75 minutes. With the robots, the cycle is reduced to 15 minutes, even though the inventory space expanded by 50%.  Kiva pods have facilitated the space expansion and created more efficient use of the available space. These improvements are expected to continue as Amazon integrates more Kiva robots in its fulfillment centers.