Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh’s Gecko Robotics announces $71M deal to deploy technology within U.S. Navy ships
Pittsburgh’s Gecko Robotics has secured a $71 million contract to deploy its artificial intelligence and robotics technology within United States Navy warships.
Gecko Robotics announced the new deal Tuesday morning, saying that it will start with with 18 different ships within the Navy’s Pacific fleet.
The Pittsburgh-based robotics company’s technology is expected to help identify repairs on ships up to 50 times faster and more accurately than using manual methods, which will help reduce delays and boost overall ship readiness.
Gecko said the work will be carried out across destroyers, amphibious warships, and combat ships within the Navy fleet.
“Readiness isn’t just a metric. It’s all that matters,” said Jake Loosararian, Co-founder and CEO of Gecko. “This growing partnership is about the unfair advantages Gecko is deploying to our Navy and how prediction, through our robotics and AI products, ensures our brave men and women are the most advantaged in the world in their fight to defend freedom. Today, we announce not a contract, but a new standard that is universal across all industries: if it isn’t ready, it doesn’t count.”
Gecko said that its wall-climbing robots, drones, and sensors can collect data on ships and submarines and identify current and future structural problems that can’t be seen by the human eye.
In a statement, Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick said he’s seen firsthand how Gecko is advancing Pennsylvania’s manufacturing legacy that has helped shape America’s national defense for more than 200 years.
“The partnership between Gecko Robotics and the U.S. Navy shows how engineers, researchers, and skilled tradesmen from a great Pennsylvania company are leading advances in technology, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and robotics and giving our military the capabilities it needs for the next generation of American defense,” Sen. McCormick said.
Gecko’s work on the first 18 ships within the U.S. Navy’s Pacific fleet is expected to take place over a five-year period.
A man from Fayette County has been arrested and is facing over 1,000 charges related to alleged animal cruelty and neglect.
Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said that John Saxberg, 57, is facing charges in connection with what he called “a suspected illegal kennel operation” in Washington Township.
According to DA Aubele, Saxberg is accused of subjecting numerous animals to “deplorable conditions” and “circumstances constituting torture,” adding that approximately ten animals suffered serious bodily injuries.
Court records show that Saxberg is facing 1,029 criminal charges in total with offenses including aggravated cruelty to animals, cruelty to animals, neglect of animals, penalties related to dog licensing, and violations of vaccine requirements.
52 of the charges that Saxberg is facing are felonies, according to court records.
Online court paperwork shows that Saxberg was arraigned on Tuesday afternoon and is being held in the Fayette County Prison after bail was posted at $85,000.
A preliminary hearing for Saxberg is scheduled for late next week.
An Allegheny County park with 200-year-old trees has been added to a growing network of protected and publicly accessible old-growth forests.
Local leaders announced on Tuesday that Hartwood Acres is now part of the Old-Growth Forest Network, which consists of over 340 forests, though this is Allegheny County’s first.
The 692-acre property features a Tudor mansion built in 1929, and while about a quarter of the park is maintained, the other 75% is forested. Some of the oldest trees include a black oak that’s over 200 years old, and a sugar maple and red oak that are nearing 200 years old.
“Hartwood Acres is one of Allegheny County’s greatest natural treasures, and this designation recognizes both the ecological value of these forests and the generations of stewardship that have protected them,” Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said in a press release. “As we work to build an Allegheny County where everyone can thrive, that includes ensuring residents have access to clean air, green spaces, and the opportunity to connect with nature close to home.”
The Old-Growth Forest Network, founded in 2012, aims to create a national network of protected, mature and native forests that are accessible to the public. The goal is to preserve at least one forest in every U.S. county that can sustain a forest.
“The importance of the preservation of these rare forests cannot be overemphasized,” said Brian Kane, the Mid-Atlantic regional manager with the Old-Growth Forest Network. “As seen at Hartwood Acres, forests perform critical environmental services that benefit communities, such as storing carbon, providing wildlife habitat, and retaining stormwater. OGFN is grateful that Allegheny County values its old-growth forests and will enable its residents and visitors to marvel at these old hardwoods far into the future as they grow even more mature and majestic.”
An overturned truck spilled hazardous materials onto the 62nd Street Bridge late Monday night and crews spent several hours working to contain the spill.
The Cherry City Volunteer Fire Company said it was assistant on a “large scale hazmat incident” along with crews from Allegheny County Emergency Services and the city of Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Fire.
A truck turned onto its side on the Sharpsburg side of the Senator Robert D. Fleming Bridge, also known as the 62nd Street Bridge, late Monday night and the fire company said crews were working to contain the leak.
An aerial view from the KDKA Drone Team around 3 a.m. Tuesday showed the large response from crews working at the scene of the crash.
A first responder told KDKA’s news crew at the scene that the chemical that was spilled was peroxide and the fire company said crews were working to keep the material from entering drainage systems.
Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, the fire company provided an update and said that all “hazardous materials have been mitigated,” but that the bridge is expected to remain closed for an extended period of time.
Drivers are being urged to use alternate routes for the morning commute.
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