Markets: Consumer Familycare
GeckoSystems is dedicated to providing Mobile Service Robots (MSR)s to families that need assistance with their elderly. It is also ideal for providing care for children and other family members. For a longer form discussion of the benefits of owning a CareBot™ for the care giver and the care receiver, please see this article.
GeckoSystems expects widespread acceptance of the CareBot. Alpha trials show that it is readily accepted by the person being cared for, Once they get used to having a robot around it becomes a familar friend or a convenience like the toaster on the table. The family enjoys peace of mind and saves money in the process.
The CareBot as a Family Investment
CareBot™
A CareBot™ MSR is built on a BaseBot™ using GeckoNav™, GeckoChat™, and GeckoTrak™ to perform timely and cost effective duties for care givers to better care for their care receivers. GeckoZap™ is used by the support personnel to perform maintenance on the CareBot™. The Consumer Familycare discussion can be accessed here.
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.
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 care giver is willing to assume for a prudent level of independence for their now reliant parent.
Like an automobile, mobile robots are made from steel, aluminum, plastic and electronics, yet with ten to twenty times the amount of software running. The CareBot™ has an aluminum frame, plastic shroud, two independently driven wheels, multiple sensor systems, microprocessors and several onboard computers connected in a local area network (LAN).
Elder Care Trials
Since November, 2009, GeckoSystems has been undertaking the world's first in-home elder care personal companion robot trials to demonstrate that their next-generation practical, personal companion robots have the ability to help caregivers perform critical eldercare monitoring and extend the time that people can live independently. Their CareBot™ home care robot is capable of assisting in senior care in a variety of real-life situations, such as on-time reminders of medication and enabling a sense of safety and security due to being "watched over" by family members.
During elder care trials, we use multiple layers of sensors and sensor systems to achieve what some describe as 'actionable situational awareness.' For example our CareBots™ are capable of powering down unnecessary systems to lengthen battery life while grandma sleeps, and then power back up automatically should she, for example get out of her bed in the middle of the night. The CareBot™ 'watches over' the care receiver using a scientifically developed fusion of sonar, active infrared, passive infrared, etc. to enable the CareBot™ to be aware of the care receiver's movements such that GeckoTrak™ can guide GeckoNav™ to stay proximate to grandma such that GeckoChat™ can have verbal interaction with her. The GeckoSuper™ then determines whether and/or when to automatically notify the caregiver that grandma is 'up and about at 2:30A' and may need the care giver to look in personally, either over the video camera, or with a physical visit.
This is a video from a stationary vantage point showing the CareBot™ autonomously following a grandmother from her bedroom to the kitchen. It was guided purely by AI in the on board computers.
The robot was in sleep mode before being activated by the grandmother's movement out of the room. It then tracked the grandmother down the hallway and found her in the kitchen.
This is the second run using the same scenario after various incremental improvements and additional sensors. Notice also that the robot is traveling through various lighting conditions that trip up many other robots. Conditions include a naturally lit bedroom, a darkened hallway, and an artificially lit kitchen.
"I am pleased to report on a number of insights regarding my involvement with the in home evaluation trials of the GeckoSystems’s CareBot™. First, I was concerned that my elderly mother would be a little frightened by the robot 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!"
"Second, the robot has been able to reassure her and make her feel more comfortable. At times she is disoriented and often thinks she is not in her home. With the upgraded GeckoScheduler™ and GeckoChat™, I am now able to have the CareBot™ remind her every hour that indeed she is at home. She responds with much relief stating that she thought she was 'far, far away.'"
"Third, 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 robot 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! All three of these insights have been surprising and helpful to me," stated the caregiver.
GeckoSystems is protecting the privacy of its elder care robot trials' participants with a sincere commitment to maintain their identities confidential.
Because of its numerous elder care trials, GeckoSystems has been able to upgrade the "sound quality" of GeckoChat™ to better enable a more deaf than realized elderly participant to understand the CareBot's™ synthesized voice when delivering medication reminders, family anecdotes, etc. to express valued family behaviors. GeckoScheduler™ was completely reworked to enhance its flexibility and ease of use. It is now a standalone GeckoSavant™, instead of being a portion of GeckoChat™. GeckoTrak™ is now more reliable in its ability to automatically --without human intervention-- to find and/or follow the designated care receiver. And the GeckoSuper™ is now more efficient and timely in its management of the various GeckoSavants™ under its purview.
Benefits
Cost Effective Monitoring
Elderly people in nursing homes receive attention from nurses nine minutes per day on average. These places are expensive ($45,000 to $60,000 per year) and not always easy or convenient for family members to physically visit. There is a crisis for cost effective assistance. Concern for their parents is one of the main reasons for adult children to purchase an elder care enabled CareBot™ MSR. It will monitor the care receiver constantly, and it is only a one-time cost that eventually pays for itself.
Virtual Visits
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Working parents of all ages seek assistance in caring for their children as a result of working long hours, and having to commute to and from their workplace. The ability to virtually visit their children from work, during travel, or anywhere they have Internet access is now possible. Working mothers and fathers can watch their children routinely in a window on their computer monitors while at work.
Automatic Reminders
The CareBot™ MSR reminds the care receiver to take medication, reminds them that family is coming over soon (or not at all), and it can alert them when there are unexpected visitors, or if intruders are present. It will also keep track of doctor's visits.
Companionship
The CareBot™ MSR is a new kind of companion that always stays close to the care receiver, enabling family and friends to care for them from afar. It will hold various levels of conversation with the care receiver. The personality, voice, and phrases can be customized.
Automatic Emergency Notification
The CareBot™ MSR notifies designated caregivers when a potentially harmful event has occurred, such as a fall, fire in the home, or the person has simply not been found by the CareBot™ for too long. It responds to calls for help. It can call 911 or, before resorting to 911, work its way through a list of designated emergency contacts.
Photos from recent Elder Care Trials
GeckoWheelchair™ Upgrade Kit
The Wheelchair Upgrade Kit (GWK001) uses sensor fusion incorporating structured light machine vision and sonar range finding to compliment GeckoOrient's™ solid-state compass, accelerometer and odometry sensor fusion. This provides its automatic, self-navigation artificial intelligence (AI) software, GeckoNav™, with sufficient and timely data to achieve actionable situation awareness while providing a very safe, loose crowd level of autonomy to be "collision proof."
Due to the extraordinary small size of Microsoft's Kinect sensor device, low power, high level of utility, and low cost; it is ideal for easy and appropriate placement on many, if not most, electric wheelchairs. The Kinect's field of view (FOV) is such that two are needed to get a wide enough FOV to provide sufficient peripheral vision to see incoming, moving obstacles, etc.
The "collision proof" wheelchair robotic upgrade kit (GWK001), recently sold to a leading Japanese wheelchair manufacturer, may be added to most joystick operated electric wheelchairs. The wheelchair occupant would simply move the joystick in the direction they wish to go. Then GeckoNav™ in concert with multiple GeckoSavants™ managed by the GeckoSuper™ would automatically seek the desired direction while avoiding any and all stationary or moving obstacles. The cost to the end user, completely installed, is only a few thousand dollars for this heightened level of safety for not only the occupant of the wheelchair, but also those persons around them.
Note: Click the above images for a larger view