Gecko Robotics Launches Cantilever Asset Management Product

Gecko Robotics today launched the Cantilever platform, which it said integrates data from its robotic, fixed-sensor, and partner systems to help customers analyze asset health and make sound decisions. The company claimed that the software is the first of its kind.

“Cantilever is designed to become the primary operating system for the physical world,” said Jake Loosararian, co-founder and CEO of Gecko Robotics. “Every day, at hundreds of customer sites around the world, our robots are keeping power plants online, military assets ready, and factory doors open. That’s only possible because our robots and fixed sensor networks are collecting data at a quantity and quality that’s never been seen before."

"Cantilever begins with that unique data and combines it with the customer’s own data to create the first end-to-end solution, transforming decision making in the built world,” he said in a release.

Gecko provides actionable data

"In the 21st century, most industries have been fundamentally changed by advances in robotics and smart sensor technology," noted Gecko Robotics. "However, the way asset health data on critical infrastructure is gathered has not changed in 50 years and is still primarily carried out in dangerous environments by hand."

"That leads to incorrect, incomplete, and insufficient data," it added. "Even the most sophisticated AI algorithms are not able to produce accurate results with insufficient data."

Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics said its robots can climb pipelines, boilers, tanks, ship hulls, and more in search of damage. They capture high-fidelity data for the company's software, which it said enables human experts to contextualize that data and translate it into action.

Cantilever analysis to optimize outcomes

Cantilever brings data layers together in ways that were not previously possible, according to Gecko Robotics. It can thus assist customer decision making to increase uptime, decrease costs, and eliminate safety issues, it said.

Cantilever works "out of the box" to immediately address customer challenges, Gecko asserted. It said the Cantilever process begins with first principles.

A combination of robots, drones, and fixed sensors collect data, which is combined with historical health records, design files, operational data, and other business metrics to create Cantilever data layers.

Cantilever's Data Systems analysis platform uses artificial intelligence to process those layers and determine key insights, like corrosion rate or remaining life. The analyses are then imported into Cantilever’s software modules to empower customers to make targeted repairs, prioritize capital investments, and shift from reactive to predictive maintenance, said Gecko.

It said Cantilever is already helping customers in the defense, manufacturing, and energy sectors. The U.S. Navy, an early adopter of Cantilever, uses it to combat the significant challenge of ship availability.

Commanding officers and maintenance teams can generate and then act on repair plans in minutes. That process that previously took weeks or months to complete, Gecko noted.

The company said other industries are using Cantilever to optimize capital spending, extend the life of key assets, and prioritize maintenance spending to reduce costs, increase uptime, and improve safety.

Want to learn more about data management in robots? This article was featured in the September 2024 Robotics 24/7 Special Focus Issue titled “Robots as mobile data platforms.”