Gecko Robotics to Inspect and Maintain U.S. Navy Amphibious Assault Ship

Gecko Robotics this week announced that it has expanded its partnership with the United States Navy. The Pittsburgh-based company will help the federal government inspect and maintain an amphibious assault ship and an additional Arleigh Burke Class destroyer. This expansion follows the approval of Gecko’s Rapid Ultrasonic Gridding (RUG) process by the Navy.

Gecko said it will use its wall-climbing robots and AI-powered software platform to build digital models of the vessels to increase the speed of maintenance cycles and reduce the time Navy vessels spend in dry dock.

“We built Gecko Robotics to solve the hardest physical problems facing the world’s most important organizations,” said Jake Loosararian, CEO and co-Founder of Gecko Robotics. “We are proud to have a mature technology that has been tested and approved by both Navy technical leaders and the sustainment officials charged with reducing the Navy’s maintenance backlog. The sailors of the U.S. Navy have a vital mission in an increasingly complicated geopolitical environment and Gecko stands with them to make sure they have the tools they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.”

Gecko said its wall-climbing robots and software platform have shown impressive results with the Navy in partnership with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) and the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC).

Navy sees decreased maintenance times with Gecko Robotics

Gecko noted that it is helping the Navy reduce maintenance cycle times and increasing the availability of data. It has also been useful in detecting defects missing through traditional methods. For example, for one Navy asset, traditional methods captured 100 data points while Gecko’s platform captured more than 4.2 million. Gecko’s products also reduced the lead time required for ship rudder inspection from 11 days to one.

In November of 2022, Gecko was awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force to help the $100 Billion Sentinel Program ensure the integrity of launch facilities. The company's technology has been used to inspect a wide range of assets, from tanks and dams to refineries and power plants.