CONYERS, GA, Jul 22 (MARKET WIRE) —
GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (PINKSHEETS: GCKO)
(http://www.geckosystems.com/) announced today that Sprint Nextel
Corporation, a major US telecommunications company, has extended
contractual terms and conditions accepted by GeckoSystems such that the
expansion of their world’s first elder care robot trials can be achieved
in a more timely fashion.
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(tm).”
“A month ago we distributed a press release announcing our discussions
with this Fortune 500 corporation. Now we are very pleased to make known
our first contractual agreement with them. In it, amongst other important
benefits, they extend special pricing for our elder care robot trial
participants,” remarked Martin Spencer, President/CEO, GeckoSystems Intl.
Corp.
“Our Emerging Solutions team has reviewed your site and is very impressed
with your concept and solution. In addition to being a very cool product,
it truly serves a need for all families going though the aging process.
Congratulations on your accomplishments so far. The market is ready for
rapidly embracing and adopting this type of ‘human service’ solution,”
remarked Russell Mossburg, Director, Solutions Engineering, Emerging
Solutions Group, Sprint Nextel Corp.
Since late last year GeckoSystems has been involved in the world’s first
in home elder care robot trials to learn more about the realities of
providing families with more cost effective solutions to enable them to
take better care of their elderly parents with less worry, time and money.
Here’s what one of the GeckoSystems elder care robot trial participants
has said: “Initially I was concerned that my elderly mother would be a
little frightened by the CareBot(tm) and not want it in her room, but
that is not the case. She likes it and seems pleased to have this
‘companion’ in close proximity. When it speaks to her she answers back
and is delighted at having a conversation with the robot! And she takes
in what the CareBot says to her as being authoritative. When I tell her
it is time for her shower she does not want to do it and tries to
procrastinate. When the CareBot tells her it is time for her shower, she
gets ready. I never thought a robot would have more influence over my
mother than I do!”
“We are learning that valued family behaviors can be readily expressed to
the care receiver using a CareBot due to the robustness of its
functionality. We continue to look forward to further exploration and
understanding of the social interaction between the family, the CareBot,
and the care receiver in the coming weeks and months of these in home
assistive care robot trials. With our trials progressing nicely, we have
already learned a great deal as to the reality of beneficial social
interaction between human and robot in domestic settings as depicted in
the testimonial above. There seems to be a very important positive — and
unforeseen by some parties — beneficial impact of valued family
behaviors for all the family in using a CareBot to also communicate their
thoughts and feelings to their beloved family members,” commented Spencer.
The elderly frequently endure loneliness and/or loss of independence when
living in nursing homes or other assisted living facilities. This new
type of remote medical monitoring system, a CareBot, will postpone, if
not eliminate that trauma to them. Their families can now better manage
the difficult decisions regarding the independence they allow their now
dependent parent while holding the risk for the adult caregiver at an
acceptable, tolerable level.
“At this time we are negotiating additional key agreements that will
enable more insightful discussions with Sprint, et al. We work very hard
to continue to secure those strategic relationships that will enable us
to effectively address our forecasted pent up demand for cost effective,
utilitarian elder care capable personal assistant robots. Our elder care
robot trials continue to reveal to us unexpected benefits for the family
and heightened confidence that our 1300+ stockholders will enjoy the ROI
they deserve,” concluded Spencer.
About Sprint Nextel Corp.:
Sprint Nextel is working with many trusted partners on security,
healthcare and monitoring all within the context of machine-to-machine
(M2M) communications. M2M is about connecting people, devices and systems
in new and transforming ways. With M2M, intelligent devices ‘talk’ to
each other over primarily wireless connections and share data without
direct human intervention. In this way, devices as diverse as utility
meters, signboards, cameras, remote sensors, laptops, appliances and
other consumer device, such as personal assistant robots, can be
connected to support a variety of new uses and achieve increased
efficiencies.
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline
communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers,
businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48
million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2010 and is widely
recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative
technologies, and was the first wireless 4G service from a national
carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data
services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost
Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless and instant national
and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet
backbone. With its customer-focused strategy, you can learn more and
visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and
www.twitter.com/sprint.
About GeckoSystems Intl. Corp.:
Since 1997, GeckoSystems has developed a comprehensive, coherent, and
sufficient suite of hardware and software inventions to enable a new type
of home appliance (a personal robot) the CareBot(tm), to be created for
the mass consumer marketplace. The suite of primary inventions includes:
GeckoNav(tm), GeckoChat(tm) and GeckoTrak(tm).
The primary market for this product is the family for use in eldercare,
care for the chronically ill, and childcare. The primary distribution
channel for this new home appliance is the thousands of independent
personal computer retailers in the U.S. The manufacturing infrastructure
for this new product category of mobile service robots is essentially the
same as the personal computer industry. Several outside contract
manufacturers have been identified and qualified their ability to produce
up to 1,000 CareBots per month within four to six months.
The Company is market driven. At the time of founding, over twelve years
ago, the Company did extensive primary market research to determine the
demographic profile of the early adopters of the then proposed product
line. Subsequent to, and based on that original market research, they
have assembled numerous focus groups to evaluate the fit of the CareBot
personal robot into the participant’s lives and their expected usage. The
Company has also frequently employed the Delphi market research
methodology by contacting and interviewing senior executives,
practitioners, and researchers knowledgeable in the area of elder care.
Using this factual basis of internally performed primary and secondary
market research, and third party research is the statistical substance
for the Company’s sales forecasts.
Not surprisingly the scientific statistical analyses applied revealed
that elderly over sixty-five living alone in metropolitan areas with
broadband Internet available and sufficient household incomes to support
the increased costs were identified as those most likely to adopt
initially. Due to the high cost of assisted living, nursing homes, etc.
the payback for a CareBot(tm) is expected to be only six to eight months
while keeping elderly care receivers independent, in their own long time
homes, and living longer due to the comfort and safety of more frequent
attention from their loved ones.
“We project the available market size in dollars for cost effective,
utilitarian, multitasking eldercare personal robots in 2011 to be $74.0B,
in 2012 to be $77B, in 2013 to be $80B, in 2014 to be $83.3B, and in 2015
to be $86.6B. With market penetrations of 0.03% in 2011, 0.06% in 2012,
0.22% in 2013, 0.53% in 2014, and 0.81% in 2015, we will anticipate
CareBot sales, from this consumer market segment, only, of $22.0M,
$44.0M, $176M, $440.2M, and $704.3M, respectively. We expect these sales
despite — and perhaps because of — the present recession due to pent up
demand for significant cost reduction in eldercare expenses,” opined
Spencer.
The foregoing forecasts do not include sales in non-metropolitan areas;
elderly couples over 65 (only elderly living alone are in these
forecasts); those chronically ill — regardless of age — or elderly
living with their adult children.
The Company’s “mobile robot solutions for safety, security and
service(tm)” are appropriate not only for the consumer, but also
professional healthcare, commercial security and defense markets.
Professional healthcare require cost effective, timely errand running,
portable telemedicine, etc. Homeland Security requires cost effective
mobile robots to patrol and monitor public venues for weapons and WMD
detection. Military users desire the elimination of the “man in the loop”
to enable unmanned ground and air vehicles to not require constant human
control and/or intervention.
The Company’s business model is very much like that of an automobile
manufacturer. Due to the final assembly, test, and shipping being done
based on geographic and logistic realities; strategic
business-to-business relationships can range from private labeling to
joint manufacturing and distribution to licensing only.
Several dozen patent opportunities exist for the Company due to the many
innovative and cost effective breakthroughs embodied not only in
GeckoNav, GeckoChat, and GeckoTrak, but also in additional, secondary
systems that include: GeckoOrient(tm), GeckoMotorController(tm), the
GeckoTactileShroud(tm), the CompoundedSensorArray(tm), and the
GeckoSPIO(tm).
The present senior management at GeckoSystems has over thirty-five years
experience in consumer electronics sales and marketing and product
development. Senior managers have been identified for the areas of
manufacturing, marketing, sales, and finance.
While GeckoSystems has been in the Development Stage, the Company has
accumulated losses to date in excess of six million dollars. In contrast,
the Japanese government has spent one hundred million dollars in grants
(to Sanyo, Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, NEC, etc.) over the same time
period to develop personal robots for their eldercare crisis, yet no
viable solutions have been developed.
GeckoSystems is the first mobile robot developer in the world to begin
actual in-home eldercare evaluation trials.
What Does a CareBot Do for the Care Giver?
The short answer is that it decreases the difficulty and stress for the
caregiver that needs to watch over Grandma, Mom, or other family members
most, if not much, of the time day in and day out due to concerns about
their well being, safety, and security.
But, first let’s look at some other labor saving, automatic home
appliances most of us use routinely. For example, needing to do two or
more necessary chores and/or activities at the same time, like laundering
clothes and preparing supper.
The automatic washing machine needs no human intervention after the dirty
clothes are placed in the washer, the laundry powder poured in, and the
desired wash cycle set. Then, this labor saving appliance runs
automatically until the washed clothes are ready to be placed in another
labor saving home appliance, the automatic clothes dryer. While the
clothes are being washed and/or dried, the caregiver prepares supper
using several time saving home appliances like the microwave oven,
“crock” pot, blender, and conventional stove, with possible convection
oven capabilities.
After supper, the dirty pots, pans, and dishes are placed in the
automatic dishwasher to be washed and dried while the family retires to
the den to watch TV, and/or the kids to do homework. Later, perhaps after
the kids have gone to bed, the caregiver may then have the time to fold,
sort, and put up the now freshly laundered clothes.
So what does a CareBot do for the caregiver? It is a new type of labor
saving, time management automatic home appliance.
For example, the care giver frequently feels time stress when they need
to go shopping for 2 or 3 hours, and are uncomfortable when they have to
be away for more than an hour or so. Time stress is much worse for the
caregiver with a frail elderly parent that must be reminded to take
medications at certain times of the day. How can the caregiver be away
for 3-4 hours when Grandma must take her prescribed medication every 2 or
3 hours? If the caregiver is trapped in traffic for an hour or two beyond
the 2 or 3 they expected to be gone, this “time stress” can be very
difficult for the caregiver to moderate.
Not infrequently, the primary caregiver has a 24 hour, 7 days a week
responsibility. After weeks and weeks of this sometimes tedious, if not
onerous routine, how does the caregiver get a “day off?” To bring in an
outsider is expensive (easily $75-125 per day for just 8 hours) and there
is the concern that medication will be missed or the care receiver have
an accident requiring immediate assistance by the caregiver, or someone
they must designate. And the care receiver may be very resistant to a
“stranger” coming in to her home and “running things.”
So what is it worth for a care receiver to have an automatic system to
help take care of Grandma? Just 3 or 4 days a month “off” on a daylong
shopping trip, a visit with friends, or just take in a movie would cost
$225-500 per month. And that scenario assumes that Grandma is willing to
be taken care of by a “stranger” during those needed and appropriate days
off.
So perhaps, an automatic caregiver, a CareBot, might be pretty handy, and
potentially very cost effective from the primary caregiver’s perspective.
What Does a CareBot Do for the Care Receiver?
It’s a new kind of companion that always stays close to them enabling
family and friends to care for them from afar. It tells them jokes,
retells family anecdotes, reminds them to take medication, reminds them
that family is coming over soon (or not at all), recites Bible verses,
plays favorite songs and/or other music. It alerts them when unexpected
visitors, or intruders are present. It notifies designated caregivers
when a potentially harmful event has occurred, such as a fall, fire in
the home, or simply been not found by the CareBot for too long. It
responds to calls for help and notifies those that the caregiver
determined should be immediately notified when any predetermined adverse
event occurs.
The family can customize the personality of the CareBot. The voice’s
cadence can be fast or slow. The intonation can be breathy, or abrupt.
The voice’s volume can range from very loud to very soft. The response
phrases from the CareBot for recognized words and phrases can be
colloquial and/or unique to the family’s own heritage. The personality
can range from brassy to timid depending on how the care giver, and
others appropriate, chooses it to be.
Generally, the care receiver is pleased at the prospect of family being
able to drop in for a “virtual visit” using the onboard webcam and video
monitor for at home “video conferencing.” The care receiver may feel much
more needed and appreciated when their far flung family and friends can
“look in” on them any where in the world where they can get broadband
internet access and simply chat for a bit.
Why is Grandma really interested in a CareBot? She wants to stay in her
home, or her family’s home, as long as she possibly can. What’s that
worth? Priceless. Or, an average nursing home is $5,000 per month for an
environment that is too often the beginning of a spiral downward in the
care receiver’s health. That’s probably $2-3K more per month for them to
be placed where they really don’t want to be. Financial payback on a
CareBot? Less than a year — Emotional payback for the family to have
this new automatic care giver? Nearly instantaneous-
Safe Harbor:
Statements regarding financial matters in this press release other than
historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such
statements about the Company’s future expectations, including future
revenues and earnings, technology efficacy and all other forward-looking
statements be subject to the Safe Harbors created thereby. The Company is
a development stage firm that continues to be dependent upon outside
capital to sustain its existence. Since these statements (future
operational results and sales) involve risks and uncertainties and are
subject to change at any time, the Company’s actual results may differ
materially from expected results.
Contact:
GeckoSystem Intl Corp.
www.GeckoSystems.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=140182685996116&v=wall
or
Main number: 1-866-227-3268
International: +1 678-413-9236
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