- DefinitionThe costs incurred in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, excluding in-process research and development acquired in a business combination consummated during the period. Excludes software research and development, which has a separate concept.
Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
 -Publisher FASB
 -Name Accounting Standards Codification
 -Topic 730
 -SubTopic 10
 -Section 50
 -Paragraph 1
 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6420194&loc=d3e21568-108373
| Name: | us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpenseExcludingAcquiredInProcessCost | 
| Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_ | 
| Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType | 
| Balance Type: | debit | 
| Period Type: | duration |