Ship-Scaling Robot Helps Navy Identify Structural Damage

The U.S. Navy is adding a ship-scaling robot to its workforce, in a newly expanded partnership with Gecko Robotics.

Under the new collaboration, Gecko will provide its hull-climbing robots designed to detect structural damage to the Navy’s first amphibious assault ship, as well as an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

Gecko will also create digital renderings of the ships using AI-powered software, in a bid to cut down times and accelerate maintenance cycles.

“We built Gecko Robotics to solve the hardest physical problems facing the world’s most important organizations,” said Jake Loosararian, Gecko Robotics’ CEO. “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.”

The expansion of work follows the formal approval of its technology by the Navy, specifically Gecko’s Rapid Ultrasonic Gridding (RUG) process. RUG is a novel robot-enabled inspection process that creates visual heat maps to identify corrosion and other damages.

The Navy is not the only government body to deploy Gecko’s robotic technology. In November,  Gecko was awarded an 18-month $1.5 million contract by the U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, to assess concrete and steel liners in Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launch facilities.