CONYERS, Ga., May 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- GeckoSystems
International Corp. (Pink Sheets: GOSY |
http://www.geckosystems.com/) is pleased to announce that due to
the licensing agreement recently reached, the company forecasts a
net profit for the 4th quarter of their fiscal year ending June
30. For over fifteen years GeckoSystems has dedicated itself
to development of "Mobile Robot Solutions for Safety, Security and
Service(tm)."
GeckoSystems is now forecasting revenues of $200,000 or more before June 30, 2013. This forecast revenue results from
the international Joint Venture (JV) licensing agreement recently
finalized. GeckoSystems believes that as a result of the due
diligence performed by the JV partners and the technical and
business experience backing that company, this long sought after
licensing agreement provides irrefutable proof of the value of
GeckoSystems technology.
"It's taken nearly sixteen years to get us to this point;"
reflected Martin Spencer, President
and CEO of GeckoSystems International Corporation, "sixteen years
and many dedicated engineers and programmers whose goal was to help
people live better, more independent lives. We've done a great deal
of R&D, alpha testing, market research and business-to-business
promotion and now we feel that we have the best and most marketable
robotic platform on the market. Our fully autonomous
navigation is unequaled as to cost and benefits."
Spencer continues: "We have always believed that Mobile Service
Robots (MSR's) have incredible potential for the benefit of
humanity in general, but we are especially dedicated to improving
the ability of families around the world to take care of their own,
their children, the disabled, and the elderly. This licensing
agreement and its impact on the profitability of GeckoSystems marks
the transition from the pre-revenue Development Stage to the
revenue producing, now profitable, Emerging Growth stage.
This first joint venture has made us profitable for this
quarter.
"Because the GeckoSystems platform exploits the economic
benefits of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) mechanical and
electronic systems and subsystems, products using our AI MSR
platform will be affordable for smaller businesses and families and
not be limited to major corporations or one percenters looking for
expensive toys. We are about to see robots enter the
mainstream and become a part of every day life."
The company is satisfied that this initial licensee appreciates
the breadth of the MSR market and is motivated to establish itself
as the dominant regional developer, manufacturer, and marketer of
MSRs. The licensee has stated its intent to develop and market some
of the product concepts that have been created by GeckoSystems'
such as the ChairBot(tm), AI+ CareBot(tm), CareBotPro(tm),
SecurityBot(tm), GeckoNED(tm), and GeckoSuperSentinel(tm). (For
more information: http://www.geckosystems.com/high_level/
)
State of the Market for Mobile Service Robots
GeckoSystems is not alone in their struggle to introduce cost
effective, truly utilitarian service robot products to
market. The entire sector of service robotics is in its
infancy. MSR's for applications such as warehouse security,
telepresence for K-12 students at home, or telemedicine (mobile
video conferencing platforms) in select hospitals are just
beginning to appear in the market. These MSRs have either very
limited functionality, or are so expensive that they are not
practical from a ROI perspective.
Personal and domestic service robots now being sold are mostly
small home vacuuming machines and toys. Industrial and
business robots largely focus on dull, dirty and dangerous tasks
with routine "supervised autonomy" (a form of teleoperation control
with the human making many common sense decisions). This 2012
report from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR)
highlights the difficulties GeckoSystems has faced:
"In 2011, about 2.5 million service robots for personal and
domestic use were sold, 15% more than in 2010. The value of sales
increased by 19% to US$636
million.
"Service robots for personal and domestic use are recorded
separately, as their unit value is generally only a fraction of
that of many types of service robots for professional use. They are
also produced for a mass market with completely different pricing
and marketing channels.
"So far, service robots for personal and domestic use are mainly
in the areas of domestic (household) robots, which include vacuum
and floor cleaning, lawn-mowing robots, and entertainment and
leisure robots, including toy robots, hobby systems, education and
research.
"Handicap assistance robots have not taken off to the
anticipated degree in the past few years. In 2011 however, this
market seemed to start up. 156 robots were sold, up from 46 in
2010. This is still quite a low number but the prospects are
promising. A lot of national research projects in many countries
concentrate on this huge future market for service robots. In
contrast to the household and entertainment robots, these robots
are high-tech products.
"The market of robots for personal transportation as well as
home security and surveillance robots will gain importance in the
future.
".... Sales of robots for elderly and handicap assistance
will be about 4,600 units in the period of 2012-2015. This market
will increase substantially within the next 20 years."
http://www.ifr.org/service-robots/statistics/
In March of 2015 the Japanese national health care plan will
begin to cover robotic personal assistance at a rate of 90%.
The 2012 IFR study was made before this plan was announced.
GeckoSystems believes that this program and research subsidies
associated with it will ignite the personal assistance robotics
sector. Because of the demographic issues outlined in
the report below, a CareBot(tm) type personal robot designed to
help people live independently in their own home as long as
possible will be in high demand globally, but the need is most
urgent in Japan. GeckoSystems believes that no economically
viable solution can be developed for this market by the
March 2015 date without using their
technology.
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20130429-419069/2.html
http://www.geckosystems.com/downloads/SafePath_Need_and_Benefits.pdf
http://www.geckosystems.com/investors/GeckoSystems-Family_and_Health_Care_Markets.pdf
GeckoSystems' Market Position:
GeckoSystems' AI mobile robot solutions are unique in that they
are portable and extensible, enabling ready migration and usage in
a large number of MSR applications and marketplaces. Using
GeckoSystems' proprietary technology, licensees are able to develop
new products quickly and with reduced R&D cost, giving them a
"fast to market" solution and a competitive advantage when entering
new markets. In addition, GeckoSystems' robust hardware and
software architecture makes applications based on their technology
"obsolescence proof" because new technology and/or cost reduction
can be integrated on a modular basis as it develops.
The extensible and portable nature of GeckoSystems tech was
proven in 2010 when the AI navigation software developed for and
used on the CareBot(tm) was migrated and with limited additional
R&D to the wheelchair. The company was able to use
GeckoNav(tm) to create the SafePath(tm) "collision free"
power wheelchair upgrade. It is this extensibility and
portability that will allow GeckoSystems licensees to accelerate
development of their own MSR applications.
GeckoSystems is gaining worldwide recognition in the robotics
field because its technology solves fundamental problems that have
held back the development of the MSR sector and it solves them in a
way that makes service robots more affordable. Research and
Markets recently identified GeckoSystems as one of eight "key
market players" along side Honda, iRobot, Sony, Toyota, and others.
The company is delighted to receive this global
recognition.
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/publication/9rvoof/personal_professional_service_robotics_mark
"While we remain focused on our Pacific Rim business development activities,
we now have new, ongoing discussions in several EU and
Mediterranean countries. These additional discussions are primarily
in the areas of commercial security and professional healthcare. We
generally get favorable reactions and heightened interest due to
our willingness to share risk in the proposed joint ventures. Due
that reality, we believe that we will soon be announcing additional
licensing revenues. I expect development in the personal
robot, social robot, elder care robot, mobile service robot,
personal assistance robot, UAV, UMV, drone, driverless automobile,
etc. (all use MSR technologies) sector from 2015 to 2020 to
parallel the explosive growth of Apple's and IBM's personal
computer market in the early 80's, or the equally dramatic
development of the automobile industry with Ford's famous Model T
in the early 1900's. This first $200,000 in licensing revenues is a linchpin
first step in progressing to profitability for a full year and a
definitive sea change for us. Now we have not only revenues, but
also net profit forecast for this last quarter in our fiscal year.
We have long expected technology-licensing revenues to precede
revenues from product manufacturing and sales. Realizing net
profits augurs well for increased ROI and shareholder value for our
1300+ investors," concluded Spencer.
About GeckoSystems:
GeckoSystems has been developing innovative robotic technologies
for fifteen years. It is CEO Martin
Spencer's dream to make people's lives better through mobile
service robot technology.
An overview of GeckoSystems' progress containing over 700
pictures and 120 videos can be found at
http://www.geckosystems.com/timeline/
These videos illustrate the development of the technology that
makes GeckoSystems a world leader in Service Robotics development.
Early CareBot prototypes were slower and frequently pivoted in
order to avoid a static or dynamic obstacle; later prototypes
avoided obstacles without pivoting. Current CareBots
avoid obstacles with a graceful "bicycle smooth"
motion. The latest videos also depict the CareBot's
ability to automatically go faster or slower depending on the
amount of clutter (number of obstacles) within its field of
view. This is especially important when avoiding moving
obstacles in "loose crowd " situations like a mall or an exhibit
area.
In addition to the timeline videos, GeckoSystems has numerous
YouTube videos. The most popular of which are the ones showing
room-to-room automatic self-navigation of the CareBot through
narrow doorways and a hallway of an old 1954 home. You will
see the CareBot slow down when going through the doorways because
of their narrow width and then speed up as it goes across the
relatively open kitchen area. There are also videos of the
SafePath(tm) wheelchair, which is a migration of the CareBot AI
centric navigation system to a standard power wheelchair, and
recently developed cost effective depth cameras were used in this
recent configuration. SafePath(tm) navigation is now
available to OEM licensees and these videos show the versatility of
GeckoSystems' fully autonomous navigation solution.
GeckoSystems, Star Wars Technology
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYwQBUXXc3g
The company has successfully completed an Alpha trial of its
CareBot personal assistance robot for the elderly. It was
tested in a home care setting and received enthusiastic support
from both caregivers and care receivers. The company
believes that the CareBot will increase the safety and well being
of its elderly charges while decreasing stress on the caregiver and
the family.
GeckoSystems is preparing for Beta testing of the CareBot prior
to full-scale production and marketing. CareBot has
recently incorporated Microsoft Kinect depth cameras that result in
a significant cost reduction.
Kinect Enabled Personal Robot video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn93BS44Das
Above, the CareBot demonstrates static and dynamic obstacle
avoidance as it backs in and out of a narrow and cluttered
alley. There is no joystick control or programmed path;
movements are smoother that those achieved using a joystick
control. GeckoNav creates three low levels of obstacle
avoidance: reactive, proactive, and contemplative.
Subsumptive AI behavior within GeckoNav enables the CareBot to
reach its target destination after engaging in obstacle
avoidance.
More information on the CareBot personal assistance robot:
http://www.geckosystems.com/markets/CareBot.php
GeckoSystems stock is quoted in the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC)
markets under the ticker symbol GOSY.
http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GOSY/quote
Here is a stock message board devoted to GOSY recommended by
us:
http://investorshangout.com/board/62282/Geckosystems+Intl+Co-GOSY
GeckoSystems uses http://www.LinkedIn.com as its primary social
media site for investor updates. Here is Spencer's LinkedIn.com
profile:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/martin-spencer/11/b2a/580
Telephone:
Main number: +1 678-413-9236
Fax: +1 678-413-9247
Website: http://www.geckosystems.com/
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.
SOURCE GeckoSystems International Corp.