US Pacific Fleet to deploy wall-climbing, flying robots on ships

By Mike Stone

Gecko Robotics has landed a $71 million contract to deploy wall-climbing robots and artificial intelligence across U.S. Navy ships in the Pacific Fleet, the Pittsburgh-based company said, in what executives described as a first-of-its-kind maintenance contract awarded to a robotics firm.

Gecko's robots climb hulls, crawl through ballast tanks and fly through confined spaces, collecting structural and material data that feeds the company's AI-powered software platform, called Cantilever.

The system can identify repairs up to 50 times faster and more accurately than manual inspections, according to the privately-held company. In one documented case, a single robotic evaluation of a flight deck eliminated more than three months of potential maintenance delays, the company said.

The deal represents a significant scaling of robotic technology.

Gecko currently operates a fleet of roughly 250 robots across both commercial and government customers, and plans to build 50 to 60 more this year.

The five-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, awarded through the U.S. Navy and General Services Administration, will see Gecko begin work on 18 ships across the Pacific Fleet, with an initial award worth up to $54 million. Destroyers, amphibious warships and littoral combat ships are among the vessels included in the program.