GeckoSystems Intl. upgrades CareBot's voice synthesis capability

Dec 16 2009

GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (PINKSHEETS: GCKO) (http://www.geckosystems.com/) -- announced today that they have recently improved their voice synthesis capability due to insights from their in home personal companion eldercare robot evaluation trials. GeckoSystems is a dynamic leader in the emerging Mobile Service Robot industry revolutionizing their development and usage with "Mobile Robot Solutions for Safety, Security and Service™."

"It was a surprise to all of us that my mother's hearing loss was greater than believed. Her initial difficulty understanding the CareBot was due to lack of volume and clarity. Now the engineers at GeckoSystems have upgraded the voice synthesis capability of GeckoChat™, I am scripting many different seasonal greetings and reminders to keep mom in a more festive mood for the coming holidays," said the baby boomer caregiver.

"We were surprised, too. We have been using our previous audio amplifier for several years now. Historically it has always been loud enough and clear enough. As a result of our ongoing evaluation trials we have upgraded one CareBot already and plan to upgrade the rest soon. These important insights and the improvements we learn from them will enable our CareBots to be even more desirable by our target market and our increased sales will provide a greater ROI for our stockholders," reflected 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 a lightweight 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 all fully autonomous maneuvering, such as avoiding dynamic and/or static obstacles, running errands 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.

"We continue to learn more about the beneficial social interactions between human and robot in domestic settings. There seems to be a very important positive impact for valued, extended family behaviors using a CareBot to communicate -- while not physically present -- their thoughts and feelings to their cherished elderly family members," concluded Spencer.