Gecko Robotics unveils new office space in Pittsburgh's Nova Place

Gecko Robotics, a company that makes robots to inspect infrastructure, has moved into an expanded office space in Pittsburgh’s North Side.

The company on Monday held a grand opening at its new 70,000-square-foot office at Nova Place. The company employs about 110 people, but is looking to expand its workforce in Pittsburgh.

The idea behind Gecko Robotics started in 2012, when Jake Loosararian was a student at Grove City College. He decided to build a wall-climbing robot that could inspect infrastructure and provide data on what may need repairs. The next year, he launched Gecko Robotics.

“What we are doing is ensuring the things we rely on every day don’t fail us,” said Loosararian, now the company’s CEO. “What our robots are doing is they’re going out to the real world, doing dangerous jobs.”

Robots can maneuver into areas that could be unsafe for people to inspect, such as bridges and oil and gas, power and chemical facilities. This saves people from putting themselves into risky conditions, while still providing the necessary information about the condition of infrastructure and the best ways to fix or maintain it.

The company’s expansion comes in the wake of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Pittsburgh in January.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald expressed optimism that the technology could be used to inspect city- and county-owned bridges.

“We know how critical that is,” Fitzgerald said.

Gainey credited Loosararian and other leaders at Gecko Robotics for their entrepreneurial spirit and work to discover ways robotics can solve major issues like those regarding infrastructure.

“All of the investments we put into robotics and life science is paying off in a new economy,” Gainey said.