Investors: Press Release
GeckoSystems Applauds 2013 $17B Service Robot Sales In "World Robotics 2010" Report
CONYERS, Ga., Sept. 24, 2010 -- GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (PINKSHEETS: GCKO) announced today that the International Federation of Robotics' (IFR) Statistical Department has recently forecasted $17 billion in annual sales for the global service robot market by end of 2013 in their report published in Frankfurt, Germany September 14.
GeckoSystems is a dynamic leader in the emerging Mobile Service Robot (MSR) industry revolutionizing their development and usage with their "Mobile Robot Solutions for Safety, Security, and Service&trafe;."
The IFR Statistical Department, which is hosted by the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association, publishes the study "World Robotics" every year. Their unique publication presents comprehensive global statistics on service robots, market analysis, case studies and international research strategies of service robots using the Delphi market research methodology. This methodology differs dramatically from primary market research in that providers of service robots were asked their opinions for future forecasts. Primary market research is statistically sound in that it focuses on the actual number of purchases at present coupled with market segmentation and demographic analyses to project the probable sales. Primary market research, all things being equal, is much more time consuming and expensive than the "polling" method of the Delphi methodology. The benefit of primary market research as performed by GeckoSystems is the significantly higher levels of confidence for the sales projections.
In the new study, the IFR Statistical Department reports that about 77,000 service robots for professional use were sold worldwide last year. The total value of professional (mobile) service robots sold was about US$13 billion. Additionally, about 5.6 million units for domestic use and about 3.1 million units for entertainment and leisure sold up to end of 2009.
Mobile service robots for personal and domestic use are recorded separately in this report, as their unit value generally is 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.
Continuing, according to the IFR report, mobile service robots for personal and domestic use are mainly in the areas of domestic (household) robots, which include vacuum cleaning and lawn-mowing robots, and entertainment and leisure robots, including toy robots, hobby systems and education and training robots. The market for robots for handicap assistance is still small, but is expected to increase substantially in the next 10 years. Robots for personal transportation and home security and surveillance robots will also increase in importance in the future. Millions of these low-cost products are already sold and almost 11 million are forecasted to be sold between 2010 and 2013 representing an estimated value of US$5 billion.
However, the number of mobile service robots for professional use will double between 2010-2013 according to this IFR report. Turning to the projections for the period 2010-2013, the stock of service robots for professional use is forecast to increase to some 80,000 units. Application areas with strong growth are robots for defense applications, milking robots, logistic systems, inspection robots, medical robots and mobile robot platforms for multiple uses. The total value of professional service robots is forecasted at about US$ 12 billion.
According to the report, numerous developments are aimed at the application of robots, eg. as assistants or butlers for performing useful jobs in everyday environments. Such robots are required to carry out bring-and-collect operations (drinks, books, etc.), perform simple tasks in public or domestic environments (picking up objects off the floor, watering plants, operating and arranging furniture, heating up food etc.) or to provide access to information on demand. A certain focus is put on providing these services to elderly people as in most industrialized countries the number of people needing care will increase drastically in the next decades. The physical layout of our everyday environment is organized with respect to human comfort and not the use of robots.
(Editor's note: Hence the potentially great present value of GeckoSystems' suite of proprietary robotic technologies that demonstrably enable home use. The CareBot was designed from a clean sheet of paper beginning over 13 years ago to address those very difficulties.)
Their projections for the period 2010-2013 indicate the stock of service robots for professional use is forecast to increase to some 80,000 units. Application areas with strong growth are defense, rescue and security applications, field robots, logistic systems, inspection robots, medical robots and mobile robot platforms for multiple use."
GeckoSystems plans to develop mobile service robots for commercial security, professional healthcare, agriculture, etc. using the suite of enabling, proprietary robotic technologies developed for their first product, the CareBot.
In home usage of personal service robots for the period 2010-2013 is projected to be about 11.4 million units of service robots for personal use to be sold. For all types of domestic robots (vacuum cleaning, lawn-mowing, window cleaning and other types), sales in the period 2010-2013 could reach some 6.7 million units. The market for entertainment and leisure robots, which includes toy robots, is forecast at about 4.6 million units, most of which, of course, are very low cost.
Martin H�gele, Chairman of the IFR Service Robot Group concluded: "Even though these robot companions or assistants have the prospect of appealing to a mass market, it is felt that the required technological progress, attractive product designs and low-cost manufacturing pose significant challenges and may make this idea more of a long-term project that will not reach full maturity before the year 2020."
"Clearly, given the foregoing perception of international robotics market research firms such as IFR, GeckoSystems has "first mover" advantage due to having solved many of the issues and concerns involving human safety and mobile service robots (MSRs) working efficiently with no human control or intervention in dynamic, unstructured environments. Our on going world's first in home elder care robot trials gives substance to the cost effective benefit of our suite of enabling mobile service robot solutions," reflected Martin Spencer, President/CEO, GeckoSystems.
Service robots can be used to provide domestic aid for the elderly and disabled. They will serve various functions ranging from cleaning to entertainment to remote monitoring (telepresence). The high cost of labor in developed countries and the increasing need for assisted living has led to the development of the service robotics market. As service robots are in greater proximity to humans, the technology involves more safety concerns over human-machine interaction. However, developments in the manufacture of intelligent and safer robots by GeckoSystems address the issues of safety, manipulation, and sensing. Thus, GeckoSystems is well positioned to advance to the day when every home has a cost effective, truly utilitarian personal companion robot by ten years or more!
"It goes without saying that when an internationally renowned market research firm independently confirms our own forecasts as to the magnitude of the emerging service robot industry, that we derive some degree of satisfaction that our own internal forecasts continue to be modest in their projections. While this unique publication presents statistics on mobile service robots, market analysis, case studies and international research strategies of service robots, we believe our suite of technologies and product development, as exemplified in our CareBot™, to be several years ahead of their expectations and our numerous competitors. We say this with some substance since we have been engaged in the world's first in home elder care robot trials that give us a 'first mover' opportunity. We expect this reality and the scope of the market to reward our GCKO stockholders with a satisfying ROI," observed Martin Spencer, President/CEO, GeckoSystems.