Gecko Robotics secures a further $300 million from the US Navy to inspect ships using climbing robots

Six months after an initial contract worth 71 million, the contract ceiling has quadrupled: robots, drones and AI are set to reduce the time taken to inspect a ship from several months to just a few days.

Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics has been awarded a $300 million extension to its contract with the U.S. Navy and the General Services Administration. The first framework agreement, an IDIQ agreement, was for only $71 million six months ago, so the cap has quadrupled, paving the way for fleet-wide deployment.

Komodo, the robot that reads under the coating

At the heart of the market is Komodo, a robot capable of probing decks through their thick anti-slip coating without damaging them. It draws complete maps of corrosion and metal thickness, which make it possible to prepare repairs even before they go into dry dock. With its climbing robots, drones and fixed sensors, Gecko collects data on the hulls, decks, welds and components of ships and submarines, which AI models analyse to identify present or future defects that are invisible to the eye.

The company claims detection up to 50 times faster than conventional methods and up to $8 million in repair savings per building. Its CEO, Jake Loosararian, believes that AI and defense robotics have left the experimental stage and must now prove a measurable return.