GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (PINKSHEETS: GCKO) (http://www.geckosystems.com/) announced today that they have started limited in home evaluation trials for their first product, a fully autonomous personal companion home care robot, the CareBot™. 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™."
"Practical, cost effective mobile robot solutions are our primary goal. We are very pleased to begin our first in home trials of this new assistive care home appliance, a customizable personal companion robot with telepresence capabilities. The first step, integrating into the home environment, is customizing the voice reproduction (synthesis) in our verbal interaction software, GeckoChat, such that the care receiver can readily understand timely (using GeckoScheduler™) verbal reminders for their medications, upcoming TV shows, family visits, etc. The care receiver here is a ninety-three year old widow with short-term memory loss that is very similar to the symptoms of Alzheimer's victims, but without the continued degradation. Now we begin proving our long held belief that personal companion mobile robots, like the CareBot, can help tens of thousands of families take better care of their loved ones while saving significant monies," remarked Martin Spencer, President/CEO, GeckoSystems.
"In the near future, as we progress with our in home personal companion robot evaluation trials, we will be reporting on the social interaction responses of the care receiver -- and the caregiver -- to this new type of fully autonomous in home medical monitoring system," observed 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 minimizing the risk the adult caregiver is willing to assume for a prudent level of independence for their now reliant parent.
Some believe that this new type of useful care giving help is approved and paid for through options such as the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, which broadens the definition, use, and funding of technology at home. Other sources include long-term care insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, Medicaid waivers, and (potentially) stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, under the provisions for health information technology and electronic medical records for acute care.