These days, Shell is able to keep the plant running, and keep repair personnel on the ground and at a safe distance as they operate wall-climbing robots [by Gecko] that inspect things like steel holding tanks at millimeter resolution.

The Government Accountability Office found the Navy had persistent sustainment challenges between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2021 due to maintenance delays, supply chain problems, staffing shortages, and increased record-keeping for aging systems and ships. GAO also found that the Navy has not used data to track ship readiness and that the service said compiling ship lifecycle metrics was a “significant challenge but remains a key objective.”

The raise comes shortly after the American Society of Civil Engineers issued its latest U.S. Infrastructure Report Card, doling out a C-minus grade across all categories, from roads and hazardous waste, to broadband and energy

As Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics progresses with its growth plans for 2021, the company plans to focus on international expansion and the development of its government portfolio.

Gecko Robotics has landed $40 million in financing as it looks to build an additional 40 robots over the next year to meet what the company sees as growing demand for its safety and infrastructure monitoring services.

The Pittsburgh-based robotics company will now have offices in Austin and Houston, and it does not plan to stop there.

“There has been virtually no innovation in industrial services technology for decades,” Founders Fund partner Trae Stephens told TechCrunch in a statement. “Gecko’s robots massively reduce facility shutdown time while gathering critical performance data and preventing potentially fatal accidents. The demand for what they are building is huge.”