AR Project Activities
Both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have been gaining ground in the industry for several years now. Augmented Reality projects digital elements to a live view such as the view from a smartphone camera while VR replaces reality with the help of specialised headsets such as Microsoft HoloLens and enterprise-level “smart glasses”. While VR can provide a complete immersion experience, AR project activities are more applicable to our physical world. Nonetheless, there are still many VR software solutions being developed for training, education, architecture, 360 video productions, and many more. Moreover, solutions involving VR are rapidly emerging to help tackle challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such solutions include VR meetings and VR-based social platforms.
Claiming AR and VR project activities that involve apps and software follows the same rules as claiming software-related R&D activities of any other technologies.
Some examples of these activities include:
1. Devising a new approach to build digital objects that will blend better into the real world.
2. New method to link a VR system and a computer-aided design (CAD) system
3. Improving voxel models for geometry description
4. Developing a novel method for object manipulation in immersive virtual environments.
5. Improving state-of-the-art tracking and registration techniques
For AR in particular, we can see applications such as Google Lens where users can simply aim their smartphone camera at an object that they want to learn more about. Another interesting AR application is the IKEA Place where customers can place true-to-scale furniture so they do not have to eyeball or measure whether the furniture would fit in their space. All these new types of AR and VR applications, as well as new or improved VR headsets and smart glasses, may qualify for R&D tax credits.
Often software and other companies make the mistake of assesing eligibility based on the project as a whole rather than on the individual activities of said project. Moreover, it is extremely important that companies keep a close record of all experiments conducted for each activity; otherwise, it would be difficult to prove their eligibility. Applicant companies are expected to conduct research or consult an expert in the field before claiming that a project activity is an R&D activity. In many cases, a technical uncertainty that a project activity aims to shed light on can be resolved by applying existing knowledge or expertise. Moreover, activities conducted primarily to improve internal business administration are excluded from being valid activities even if they are innovative or novel and are conducted for the purpose of generating new knowledge.
We at Innercode can help you assess whether your AR and VR project activities fall as R&D activities. By having the right advice and insights straightaway, you can be sure of maximising your R&D tax claim. We have years of experience delivering R&D Tax incentives to different software and tech companies – many of which specialise in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. Through our streamlined process of assessing and preparing tax incentive claims, we are confident that we can help you determine your eligible projects and activities in just a few hours of your time.
