Gecko Robotics is developing the US Navy’s largest robotics contract to date

The US military has hired its largest robotics project yet as the military branch looks to use robots to continue to improve its fleet.

Gecko RoboticsA Pittsburgh company that develops robots and sensors to inspect large industrial goods, has signed a five-year contract for IDIQ (indefinite delivery, unlimited quantity) with the US Navy and the US General Services Administration (GSA), the company announced on Tuesday. The contract starts with an initial award of $54 million and has a cap of $71 million.

The Navy will use Gecko robots and sensors to monitor the condition and health of the US Navy and its ships, starting with 18 ships in the US Pacific Fleet.

Gecko founder and CEO Jake Loosararian told TechCrunch that the company’s robots will crawl throughout the ship’s interior to create a detailed digital image — sometimes called a “digital twin” — of each ship. The company’s software helps the organization to monitor the assets and recommend repairs, try to solve problems before they occur and reduce repair time and cost.

“Once you create that digital representation using robotic systems for health and condition, and even the digital environment itself, then you can speed up the decision-making process and make improvements faster,” Loosararian said. “You want to create a living, breathing model that makes sure you’re minimizing the number of days in the future that these things have to go (out of service).”

The agreement is meant to help the Navy achieve its goal of having 80% of the fleet ready by 2027. Today, about 40% of the Navy’s ships are not available at any time due to long-term maintenance on these ships.

“It’s like $13 billion to $20 billion a year in maintenance,” Loosararian said. “At a time when you want everything you can get, this is very difficult. And these things are not getting any smaller.”

Gecko has been in service with the US Navy for four years. When a Japanese port manufacturer reached out to find out more about the company, Gecko analyzed and developed a defense strategy. The Navy was impressed, and the relationship grew from there, until Tuesday’s agreement.

“We’re helping to make sure that our important resources last as long as possible and don’t go down,” Loosararian said. “I want to live in a country where there are no ships that manage the movement, because we only know what is broken and what we can fix when it is sent. This is my vision for the future, whether it is military cargo or electricity.”