World
US Navy looks to robots, AI to extend vessel health and maintenance
The U.S. military will look to robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve fleet maintenance and readiness, according to Gecko Robotics.
The company has worked out a deal that will see the U.S. Navy introduce wall-climbing robots and AI to “reduce delays and maintain its fleet” with an eye toward extending the life of ships and submarines.
“We’re proud to grow our partnership with the Navy around keeping ships in the fight and increasing the pace of production on the Columbia,” Jake Loosararian, co-founder and CEO of Gecko Robotics, said, referring to the Columbia-class submarine program in a press release.
“Making sure the brave men and women of the U.S. Navy have the tools they need to perform their vital missions safely and effectively is the perfect example of what our team wakes up every morning focused on.”
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A close-up view of a Gecko Robotics unit as it crawls across a carrier deck. (Gecko Robotics)
The main benefit Gecko has promised is a reduction in work hours associated with maintenance. The company also believes it can improve data analytics to help find defects in these processes to improve defensive structures of the vessels.
Gecko said it can capture 4.2 million data points while traditional methods capture “less than 100 data points on key vital defense structures.”
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An operator monitors a Gecko Robotics robot as it begins its analysis. (Gecko Robotics)
Loosararian started Gecko Robotics in 2013 as an evolution of a project he started during college. He started developing his first robot in 2012 while at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, according to Fortune.
He built the robot to satisfy a project pitched by an engineering professor to handle structural issues at a nearby power plant. Loosararian’s project ended up donated to the plant, which used it for years.
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The interface on Gecko Robotics’ AI program, Cantilever, which accumulates millions of data points gathered by the robots. (Gecko Robotics)
Loosararian redesigned the hardware to build the robots for his eventual company, Gecko, pouring his savings into the company. He cycled through co-founders and worked without pay for years before finally finding his footing with his new projects.
Gecko started partnering with the U.S. Navy in 2023 mainly to help decrease maintenance delays for ships and submarines, but it has seen a 400% increase in use during 2024. In the coming months, it will start to work on aircraft carriers and will start to gather “granular data on the health of the Navy’s vessels.”
“That data is then fed into Gecko’s AI-powered operations platform, Cantilever, to help substantially reduce growth work, maintenance timelines and help the ships get back to sea faster,” the company said in its press release.
“The new deals cement Gecko’s role in building and maintaining critical defense assets that support both national and global security,” the release said. “It also makes the U.S. Navy a pioneer in using the very latest technology to reduce delays and unexpected maintenance for its fleet — a challenge faced by countries around the world.”
new video loaded: Train Crashes Into Bangkok Traffic, Killing at Least 8 People
By Jorge Mitssunaga
May 16, 2026
World
WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Central Africa a public health emergency after 80 suspected deaths
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The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa an international public health emergency on Sunday after dozens of suspected deaths were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, the WHO said.
The declaration follows reports of 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases as of Saturday across at least three health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring a rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius cruise ship, which left multiple passengers and crew members sick, and caused three deaths.
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A health worker sprays disinfectant on a colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on Sept. 9, 2018. (Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP)
As of May 13, the WHO said 11 hantavirus cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case.
In neighboring Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the WHO said two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases — including one death — were reported Friday and Saturday involving people who had traveled from the DRC.
Another laboratory-confirmed case was reported in the DRC capital of Kinshasa involving a person returning from Ituri province.
Initial tests suggested the outbreak does not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which caused Congo’s devastating 2018–2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.
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Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim in an isolation tent in Beni, Congo, on July 13, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
However, unlike Ebola-Zaire strains, there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain, which the WHO described as making the outbreak “extraordinary.”
The WHO warned the outbreak could be larger than currently reported due to the high positivity rate among initial samples and the growing number of suspected cases.
The outbreak also poses a public health risk to other countries, the WHO said, urging nations to activate emergency-management systems and implement cross-border screening measures.
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Ambulances parked at Bunia General Referral Hospital following confirmation of an Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 16, 2026. (REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge)
Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease spread through bodily fluids, including blood, vomit and semen. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal bleeding.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said Congo has a “strong track record” responding to Ebola outbreaks while announcing the release of $500,000 in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
The WHO said it will convene an emergency committee to review recommendations for how affected countries should respond.
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Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, on July 16, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
The organization did not recommend border closures or travel restrictions.
Congo has now recorded 17 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Brittany Miller, along with Reuters, contributed to this report.
Iran to reveal its plan for Strait of Hormuz soon as Israel attacks Lebanon and Gaza, killing and wounding dozens.
Published On 17 May 2026
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