Conference to discuss cost savings and payback of personal companion robots

Oct 22 2009

GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (PINKSHEETS: GCKO) (http://www.geckosystems.com/) -- announced today that during their first annual "Mobile Robots in Motion" conference November 4-5, 2009 attendees will be able to learn and discuss the expected cost savings and payback of personal companion robots, such as their CareBot, in an eldercare setting. GeckoSystems is a dynamic leader in the emerging Mobile Service Robot (MSR) industry revolutionizing their development and usage with "Mobile Robot Solutions for Safety, Security and Service™."

Perhaps one of the most easily overlooked realities regarding the economics of mobile robots usage is the impact of their providing cost effective utility seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Care giving for the elderly is more than expensive in dollars; it is also stressful for the caregiver due to the necessary timeliness for many important daily and weekly needs for the care receiver.

"Many elderly, living alone, can do so on $1200-1500 per month, excluding medical and any other extraordinary requirements in many parts of the country. Average nursing home costs are over $4000 per month in most parts of the US. Day "eldercare" service -- with typically drop off, pick up scenarios -- is $75 per eight-hour day and up. A part time caregiver that comes into the home to relieve the full time caregiver from the stressful time pressures of daily attendance, is a minimum of $10 per hour. The impact of the foregoing realities will be discussed and presented during our upcoming "Mobile Robots in Motion" conference.

"Given the foregoing realities, we have worked for many years to keep our manufacturing costs incredibly low by using existing commodity hardware and software whenever possible. Consequently, depending on "options chosen" for the CareBot by the purchaser, we expect the full retail to be somewhere from $15,000 to $20,000 each. Depending on the specific needs of the care receiver, that price range can result in a financial payback of only seven to ten months, and yet have a useful life of several years," concluded Martin Spencer, President/CEO, GeckoSystems.

Like an automobile, mobile robots are made from steel, aluminum, plastic, and electronics, but with ten to twenty times the amount of software running. The CareBot has an aluminum frame, plastic shroud, two independently driven wheels, multiple sensor systems, microprocessors and several onboard computers connected in a local area network (LAN). The microprocessors directly interact with the sensor systems and transmit data to the onboard computers. The onboard computers each run independent, highly specialized cooperative/subsumptive artificial intelligence (AI) software programs, GeckoSavants™, which interact to complete tasks in a timely, intelligent and common sense manner. GeckoNav™, GeckoChat™ and GeckoTrak™ are primary GeckoSavants. GeckoNav is responsible for maneuvering, avoiding dynamic and/or static obstacles, seeking waypoints and patrolling. GeckoChat is responsible for interaction with the care-receiver such as answering questions, assisting with daily routines and reminders, and responding to other verbal commands. GeckoTrak, which is mostly transparent to the user, enables the CareBot to maintain proximity to the care-receiver using sensor fusion. The CareBot is an internet appliance that is accessible for remote video/audio monitoring and telepresence.