Under Contract Research and Development (R & D) services, Paladin Robotics performs original investigations and applies research findings to gain new knowledge on behalf of our clients; we use this knowledge to create new or improved technologies intended to provide a competitive advantage for the business or organization which has requested our services. 

Paladin Robotics also provides Industrial R & D under contract to obtain new knowledge that will eventually result in new or improved products, processes, systems, or services that will benefit the company’s sales or growth.

Contract research and development is an extremely important part of Paladin Robotics continued leadership in high-tech product development. We partner with you to invest in researching and developing complex new technologies, theoretical concepts, and comprehensive exploration to invent the technologies of tomorrow.

Research and development is similar to engineering but is a distinct process with unique goals. R & D creates knowledge, develops designs, and moves on to creating — and proving the feasibility of — prototypes and samples. Engineering, which follows R & D, converts these samples into marketable or economically feasible products or processes.

R & D may be defined as three separate sub-processes: basic research, applied research, and development. Each of these may be more or less prominently involved in the research and development process, depending upon the scope and type of project.

• Basic research attempts to attain a fuller knowledge or understanding of the research subject. In an industrial sense, basic research is used to further knowledge about a subject without a specific commercial objective.
• Applied research involves investigation aimed at discovering new knowledge related to a specific commercial objective involving products, processes, or services.
• Development is the application of obtained research to the production of useful or commercially viable materials, products, devices, systems, or methods. This also includes the production of prototypes and sample processes.

What We Offer

Paladin Robotics has a world-class team of scientists and engineers with experience in the areas of rapid prototyping, electronics, mechatronics, robotics, automation, internet of things, and Agritech. Every member of our engineering team holds a MS or higher degrees. Our laboratories and testing equipment, as well as university and vendor partnering, have enabled successful research work and transitioning to production to serve the needs of the government and commercial markets. Paladin has a strong tradition of innovation with a history of quickly producing working prototypes.

Why We’re the Firm of Choice

Our education and experience places us in the top 2% of engineering firms for working with new technologies. We have all the skills needed to rapidly assimilate knowledge of new technologies and apply them to produce new products.

In addition to know-how, we’re also well-equipped with all the hardware, software and machinery needed to produce prototypes as quickly as the same day. Anything we can’t produce ourselves can be quickly produced with our partners and vendors.

Our Research and Development services include:

CAD and CAM Design Services

• CAD and CAM design using Altium, Autodesk, Solidworks
• 3D Modeling and drafting of parts and assemblies
• Manufacturing documents such as engineering drawings, assembly drawing and shop drawings
• PCB Schematics and layouts

Industrial Design

• Prototype Production
• Component and Material Selection

Product Design

• Idea generation
• Concept development
• Prototyping
• Testing

Reverse Engineering

• 3D Digitization
• Bill-of-Material estimation

Simulation

• Visualization
• Failure Analysis
• Finite Element Analysis

Software Development

• Toolchain Setup and Development
• Programming in several languages including C, C++, Python, Java, and Ada
• Embedded Systems programming
• Applications development

Feasibility Analysis

A great first step in any new project is to ask, “Is it worth it?” A little due diligence up front can save you several orders of magnitude in future R&D expenses. When we conduct a feasibility study we cover the following:  

• Develop Product Strategies
• Understand the Regulatory Landscape
• Estimate Schedules and Budgets
• Build a financial model
• Market Analysis
• Articulate the Risks and Propose Mitigation

“Make or Buy” Analysis

In many instances, unique technology required to undertake a project or produce a product is available on the marketplace, albeit for a price. For this reason, corporate management or project managers should perform a “make or buy” analysis when justifying the time and resources necessary for an R & D service, as opposed to simply finding and purchasing the technology.

Four factors must be considered as part of this analysis:

• Proprietariness: if the technology can be safeguarded as proprietary and eventually patented, its value to the company will be much higher and R & D resources can easily be justified.
• Timing and growth rates: if market growth is slow, R & D is probably the best option for obtaining new technology. If market growth is faster, the R & D process will likely be too long and costly to benefit the company or project.
• Risk: investing in any R & D work is inherently risky. Careful forecasting and monitoring must be performed to maximize decision-making accuracy.
• Cost: R & D involves a substantial up-front investment and longer periods of negative cash flow than simply purchasing the rights to a technology. The project should be analyzed with this fact in mind.

The rewards associated with research and development work are very high, but the process itself is costly and risky. While many companies use R & D processes to stay ahead of and gain a commercial advantage over competitors, failed projects — like successful ones — consume large amounts of resources regardless of their success rates.