Pittsburgh Robotics Firm Lands Major Middle East Oil Contract

A Pittsburgh robotics company has won a $30 million contract with the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company—a deal reflecting the growing reach of the city’s many tech companies.

Gecko Robotics Inc. will use robots to perform maintenance, improve efficiency, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and maintain safety for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

The UAE aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.

“ADNOC and the UAE are at the forefront of using Industry 4.0 tools to boost efficiency and decrease their carbon footprint,” Gecko CEO Jake Loosararian said in a statement.

Gecko’s machines climb pipelines, bridges, boilers, tanks, ship hulls and more in search of damage. In the U.S., the company robots are mainly used to inspect aging infrastructure.

Gecko is one of a number of startup tech companies founded by researchers and students at Carnegie Mellon University, a global leader in development of robots.

The announcement of the Gecko-ADNOC partnership came before the start of the second annual Aviation and Robotics Summit. Hosted by Pittsburgh International Airport and Future Travel Experience, the summit brings aviation leaders from around the world to Pittsburgh, a city that is a global leader in robotics.

Gecko is a partner of xBridge, PIT’s innovation hub, and some of its newest tools are aiding in the construction of the airport’s new terminal. As part of the partnership with xBridge, Gecko technology allowed for a thorough inspection of the building’s fire safety—specifically, sensor technology to test the building’s signature metal “tree” columns that support much of the structural steel.

The Abu Dhabi contract is a boon for Pittsburgh’s technology sector, said Jonathan Kersting, vice president for communications at the Pittsburgh Technology Council.

“The Tech Council is thrilled to see Gecko Robotics winning such a sizeable contract,” Kersting said. “It shows that Pittsburgh-based companies are developing solutions that are being deployed around the world to address some of our toughest problems. It also creates visibility to those outside of Pittsburgh that we are home to innovations that can’t be found anyplace else.”