Martin Spencer, president and CEO of GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (PINKSHEETS: GOSY), will discuss the Mobile Robot Safety Paradigm at the company’s third annual “Mobile Robots in Motion” Conference April 13-14, 2011 in Conyers, Ga., where the company is located. This topic was first reviewed early last December with a senior Japanese government and robot industry delegation. GeckoSystems is the maker of CareBot, a personal service robot for the home, primarily used for eldercare.

Mobile service robots, or MSRs, can be dangerous due to their size, weight, locomotion system, level of autonomy, level of situational awareness, speed, and power supply, among other factors. “We consider it to be a moral and ethical imperative to be investigating and discussing the impact of potentially very dangerous machines operating automatically without direct human control in environments populated by people, pets, and other live animals,” says Spencer.

Also discussed at the conference will be software attributes ranging from simple obstacle avoidance to AI-enabled self-navigation. Simple obstacle avoidance includes Low Level, Reactive; Mid Level, Proactive (MLP); and High Level, Contemplative behaviors. AI self-guidance-running errands, patrolling, seeking, finding, following, and pursuing, for example-includes Loose Crowd Capable and Wide Receiver Capable behaviors. The level of situational awareness of an MSR also dramatically influences the level of safety of which a particular MSR is capable.