November 12, 2025 • 19 mins
I apologize for the inconsistent audio on the episode today. We had some issues working with some new equipment and it will never happen again.
LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW, RATE
On today's special live ADIPEC episode, Harvey Young and I break down the recent deals between Gecko Robotics and ADNOC Gas. We talk about the next steps Gecko is looking to take in the Gulf, what this means for the energy industry, and the future of infrastructure maintenance. If you have any thoughts, feedback or suggestions for future episodes, don' hesitate to reach out!
Official Gecko Robotics Press Release: https://www.geckorobotics.com/news/ADNOC-Group-PR
Website: https://www.reroutedpod.com
Email: nick@reroutedpod.com
Instagram: @rerouted_pod
LinkedIn: Rerouted
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Today I have a very special episode for you all.
I'm here with Harvey Young, Managing Director of Gecko
Robotics Middle East, and we're going to be breaking down the
brand new deal that they just signed with ADNOC and what it
looks like moving forward. So Harvey, thank you so much for
joining me today. Thank you for.
Having me today, Nicholas. All right.
Would you real quick just break down the deal that Gecko
Robotics has with ADNOC recently?
Pleasure. So we have 3 deals they're very
excited to deliver. About the first one is working
(00:23):
on for a very good time now about 18 months is an enterprise
software license for ADNOC gas that rings cantilever Gecko's
planning of AI and robotics to be inspired value painter ADNOC,
Yes. Now the second deal is a
commitment to invest in the ADNOC Technical Academy where
we're going to be training the next generation of operational
(00:43):
leaders and technical experts onthis cutting edge technology as
well as code developing new robotic capabilities to bring to
the field. And then the third deal that
we'll look at is how we fly savemechanisms, the same research
and the same attitude that we have with that no gas to bring
everything I just described to the rest of the day all.
Right. So now that you've secured these
(01:05):
massive deals, do you have a strategy for ensuring that
they're going to be in mutual success?
Absolutely. The first and foremost missed
critical urgent thing that we dois to make sure that our
customers experience the value as quickly as possible.
So that's what led to this success in the first place in
the region. ADNOC gave us a chance.
They saw merging technology, theteam that were motivated and
(01:27):
delighted to be getting dirty getting in the field and point
tech to prove it works. We then use that opportunity to
do nothing other than prove the value, get people excited
throughout the tech. The thing that's really exciting
for me is all of this that's happened so far happened purely
from the engineers at the site level starting the word, the
appreciation for the technology,and that's how we got to where
(01:47):
we all did it. When you say engineers on the
site, well, you mean like ADNOC engineers just learning about
what you're doing outside of youguys and then just bringing that
up to the top? Absolutely.
So the site guys deployed for us, Hubshan, that's Island
Abbott Gases flagship sites where we started operations.
We had a short window to performthe pilot during an incredibly
(02:08):
busy turn around periods where if you get one thing wrong, the
repercussions can be enormous. So, you know, thankfully we're
able to deliver during that pressing time.
And the the repressions of that is that MGS appreciates this and
they invites this for an X1. They then told their friends,
they then told the other side. So before you know, it was
spread across all that, I guess.That's quite impressive,
(02:29):
especially since I know the tendency when you demo
something, everything always goes wrong.
So it really speaks to the strength of the product
honestly, that you were able to have such a successful
exhibition. Absolutely on On the vendor
side, the supply side, the technology side, you often find
that whatever you demo, something inequity goes wrong.
On the customer side, they oftenfind the.
Once you get past the demo level, that's when the
(02:50):
technology starts letting out. Oh, sure.
For us, we knew that this was the point where we had to let
the technology speak for itself and then listen to the customer
and to understand exactly where it worked or it gets.
And that time so rashes from up to run this missile across this
world to make sure the relationship was right.
All right. Awesome.
So now that you've gotten this deal with ADNOC Gas, do you see
(03:10):
Gecko entering other industries outside of energy in this
region? Yeah, we we get asked about this
a lot frankly when we arrived inthe region.
We look to add not not just for the assets, not just for the
operations or for the strategic vision that they saw their
appreciation for technology and the end this.
Now there are other organizations in the region that
(03:31):
have that kind of vision, but nothing that's quite matched out
at least what we've seen. Now the robots themselves have
utility, cross mining, manufacturing, all sorts of, you
know, power utilities is one thing to deploy the robots, it's
enough thing to align with the leaders of those industries so
that they can understand that what we could do today is not
(03:53):
where we're stopping. We're also thinking 5/10/15
years in the future as to what afacility of the future might be
black. Those are the partners that
we're looking with. So we'll sit to the intersection
of ambition and compatibility iswhere we'll go next.
All right. On that related note, ADNOC
moves a lot faster than most of the rest most of this industry.
(04:13):
So now that you've secured this deal with ADNOC, do you see the
rest of the industry coming to more of Gecko robotic type
solutions with advanced analytics?
Do you see that in the future and with Gecko?
I do. I see there are a couple of
trends that I'm seeing at the moment that become we have to
cover all three. The first one is that quite
frankly, software is becoming saturated.
Yeah. So everybody has a digital twin.
(04:34):
They're very good digital trends, am I add, but
everybody's got one. And it's really a question of
which one's going to be most compatible for your organization
and that's what organizations still the right strategy.
Now the other trend I'm seeing is the data feeding these
digital twins is insufficient, OK.
So what we're able to do is to prepare that with our robotics
that can identify the gaps in data, but then go in the field
(04:56):
of collector. So with digital experience, it's
a little richer, a lot more precise, a lot more accurate.
So that's one trend that we're seeing at driving now the other
trend we're seeing as well is what I described about the
operation of the Citizen for keychain.
Now it's one thing to introduce this technology and so maybe
stop ramping up. It's, it's another thing to do
(05:17):
that both care and with attention.
And what I mean by that is if you turn up with a lot of
equipment and most people won't know where to put it.
Yeah, what capacity and there's a lot of trust to ask the
filter. So we need to lay the groundwork
at the moment to create a foundational level of data that
would inform where the roads go and what they do so they can
afford reliability. So if that's the second trend
(05:37):
I'm doing is that organizations like Adlock are investing that
foundation now, preparation for the future.
And then the third trend I'm seeing is a lot of providers are
attracted to the region and for the innovation that the barrier
to entry is high. I mentioned this.
Apply the phase where it's all or nothing and prove it.
You need to get it right. What that means is organizations
(05:57):
like Adlock, they'll give you the window to prove the tech,
but if your tech isn't real deal, yeah, you'll quickly find
out. OK.
So then on that note and as wellon the note of the space being
oversaturated, how has your product suite evolved and now
continues to evolve to meet the needs of your clients?
Absolutely. So you know one of the things I
do with the most about their botics like it in the field, but
(06:19):
as you get to be sure good to surely be any user.
So, you know, we could boy our Toby 5 for example, which is a
robot in the Canadian gay storage tanks.
You know, while we're there, we're talking to other asset
unit operators that tell us about that problems with like
pooling light or flare light speed of preciousness.
Yeah, while we're there, you know, the people inside of them,
(06:40):
they're not sales before, they're engineers.
So they start to battle from thethesis with the customer to go
back to the lab. They start tinkering the robots
and then we introduce the new capability for on the field.
So, you know, that's how our robot evolution is kind of tough
with regards to software, like, you know, building software,
it's it's difficult, but it's not that OK.
(07:01):
What's hard is how you treat your data.
So one of the best investments Ithink Gecko has made long before
IRA was in the handling is how we localize valid every day.
Now anybody that works the robotics.
But now that's the most important thing for probably
Guild your robots how you have the data behavior act Gecko has
(07:21):
been doing that for the past 12 years or so.
So the evolution of data validation has meant that the
richness and the accuracy of thedata gives us such a huge
advantage. He's still operating the
software because the results that dicton analytics have
followed by so that's that's unexpectedly allowed us to leap
fraud with our features that especially with this way that
(07:42):
they are because the barriers entry Pi lowest we start onward
more features. We're finding that our robust
data it's giving us that advantage.
So that's where we're making it really further.
OK, very nice. It seems as well you have a
distinct advantage in working this because of how flat your
organization is having your engineers have a ton of
autonomy. And I was actually speaking with
(08:04):
one of your colleagues on Mondayabout how much he values that.
There's a true startup culture at Gecko Robotics.
How do you think that's been a huge advantage to you, as
outside of just being able to have your engineers make lots of
decision, how do you foster thatas a leader?
Yeah, absolutely. The short answer is, you know,
best idea that's OK whether you're an intern or you're the
(08:25):
CEO and you know, if you, I think you've met Jake, our CEO.
Not yet. Not yet.
Oh, you'll meet him this week for sure.
But if you meet him, you'll findthat you know he.
There's very little ego there. So if you use an intern, come up
with an idea like he'll figure it out.
Just you. It'll make sure that you thought
through a good idea. The next week you could be in
the lab building that idea with a team fight.
And you know, I've seen that breathe into action multiple
(08:48):
times. The flip side of that is you as
a leader, you need to be prepared to be humbled as well.
There have been numerous occasions where I might have put
it wrong, but the the key lessonhere is mess.
Idea wins and we try to operate on a metronomy where you know
people are recognized for those contributions.
Teams form around and it kind ofebbs and flows along that
career. One time you might be manager
(09:09):
leading a product, another time you could be an icy word.
That's all else's idea. We don't really care as long as
the idea is good. That's really honestly sounds
quite incredible. How do you find those people
that are so willing to kind of be going with that flow and
stuff, those self starters, those highly motivated
individuals? Absolutely.
Frankly, it's a, you know, it's a it's a motley crew of misfits.
(09:30):
Yeah, artists and poets and engineers.
It's not always sweet. Sometimes you get things wrong.
Sometimes you might over and lessen a nice because
romantically it looked pretty good.
If the reality is, you know, youlook for people that are crave
their stream ownership very quickly, give them the
responsibility to read it. And what we find is most people
(09:51):
will rise to the occasion. And the ones that don't, the
next time the opportunity comes around, they're more humble and
they think more about how they can enable it as a artist.
But the the short answer is reading for lifetime learners,
people that people that are enthusiastic about tech people
that don't just want to item endof their view screen that will
create they want to get in the film and see these things
(10:12):
working. Yeah they want to build products
and software and see the real world impact they can have
insight those people especially in this digital world,
especially with the new generation what it would impact
and what they do. We're finding what the energy
now all. Right.
That's really exciting. So what's next on your horizon
right now? So, you know, these
(10:32):
announcements, they've been the culmination of a lot of impact
realized ad hoc. Frankly, you've been here for
three years. We've been working mostly, most
exclusively with ad hoc gas. I look at the entire economic
value. You know, we've been the
opportunity. I look at the ambition and
honestly, and I think we could be at a 10X situation this time
(10:52):
next year. Yeah.
So I want to cut my robots the whole finding or the average
sour gas offshore, not just giving them the products that we
have at gas that listings the big shoulder to shoulder of
their engineers coming up with new products, yeah, that are not
just ideated in the UAE, the design fields manufactured and
deployed in the UAE and that eventually across the rest of
(11:14):
the GCC and across North America.
OK. And I'm also wondering about.
Your. Iteration cycle for building
physical robots. Because I think there's an
interesting challenge in this industry where plants have been
designed for human inspection, right?
They're not designed for a robotthat looks like Gecko's
flagship, necessarily to do everything.
So how do you combat that challenge in robot design?
(11:36):
How long does that take? Yeah.
So this is a, this is a really good question.
There's a lot of ways I could take it.
The first thing I'll say quicklyis, you know, I've spoken a lot
about the advantage of being a robot and software company.
There's also disadvantages, right?
The development cycles, as you know, are a lot longer.
Yeah, get it wrong. It's a lot more expensive.
It's just so much more at stake.So you're absolutely right.
There must be incredibly intentional about the road was
(11:58):
we built. And then the second thing you
said is, you know, some of theseassets 50 years old.
You're right. And we're building very long so
that you keep them alive much longer than they were ever
intended to be kept alive. Yeah.
So there's a sustainability aspect.
There are all that we've invested so much in this
critical infrastructure, it's working and you know, we can
make it have a more useful extended life.
(12:19):
So if we can do that, we're absolutely going to do that
because that makes sense for multiple, multiple reasons for,
you know, energy preservation for maintaining through the, but
also do we really want to reinvest in something when the
equipment we've got is just as good?
Yeah. So we build brothers to do to
address that. Now again, the exciting thing
about ADBAR is they're eternallytheir facilities developing new
(12:40):
facilities that will upset that legacy facilities that could
robotics want to do is inform the facility of future not just
people taught us robots, but based on the mountains and
terabytes of data we've collected inform the design
standards both those assets because there's a lot of lessons
we've ordered for damage mechanisms.
That's how we can avoid the future of a better design.
(13:00):
OK. In addition to informing design
based off of what you've seen for damage and maintainability,
what about do you see a future in which plants are designed to
be inspected by robots and not humans?
Take a step further, I see a world where the assets
themselves also keep border inspecting themselves.
OK, so OK, so you know, multi sensor components layered in
(13:23):
between installation of an asset, a docking station where a
robot can be rested and you know, condition based
deployment. As soon as an average text and
susceptibility might be high, the robot immediately deploys to
post their gap. Use your patent signatures based
on that foundation of data layerto look up to identify damage
(13:43):
before it comes damaged in the 1st place.
You know, when we're getting into the sci-fi land now, the
foundational data layer that we're creating.
OK, well honestly what you're describing doesn't even sound
too sci-fi. It sounds a lot like how like a
distributed control system lookslike in a power plant, you know?
So do you see as like literally just almost an incredibly
advanced DCS systems in plants where you're not just monitoring
(14:05):
process controls, but you're also monitoring wall health?
Precisely. OK, So it's a neglected part
from a technology point of view.So the back to part of the
industry, if you think about allof the advanced routes and
technologies, you know, they came from Shell, they came from
process optimization. Yeah, I think we're going to see
the same revolution in asset management as well and take two
services. OK.
That's incredibly exciting. And I know that sensors take
(14:28):
unbelievably long amounts of time to develop.
Do you think that the foundational technology, in
terms of how we can sense these types of things, is there yet?
Yes. So I believe long time to
develop what we're seeing is a different line either across the
time in manufacturing the census.
I probably can't speak about some of the things I've seen in
development just yet. Of course, I've seen incredibly
(14:51):
simple and elegant solutions that are highly graffiti that I
feel expect to be across all accessible for some season 1 the
next time. OK.
And are you doing these things completely?
And how, Sir, you do you depend on like academia, for example,
in sorts of ways? So we have a lot of part ships
for universities, a lot of our, you know, best for Monica
(15:13):
engineers, civil engineers came from Carnegie and not only
firstly, but Sylvania, we're looking at partnerships here at
the UAE, the university, the AI Cliff University.
The the best ideas also come from regulators, believe it or
not, because they can tell you over time how these things
evolve as the risk has evolved. All of these kind of culminate
(15:35):
in what we can do today and whatwe feel is going to happen
tomorrow, and that forms basis of our product pieces.
Nothing Trump's what we see in the third because we just want
to address the most urgent cause.
Yeah. There's a kind of an interesting
paradox or you said where the best ideas come for regulators
when you're working in the UAE, that's not necessarily the
priority is the regulation. So I'm interested, are there any
(15:57):
particular challenges that mightcome out of being active
somewhere that doesn't necessarily take the that
focuses on minimizing regulationto my understanding versus
increasing regulation. Is that something that you might
find to be challenging at some point that they're not
regulating and you're not able to be pushed in certain ways?
(16:18):
To an extent. But I start.
With regulation compliance standards such as SME and
American Training Institute, butthat is still with its own
challenges because the two standards were designed for the
technology of today existed. Yeah.
So a lot of them are based on averages.
A lot of them are conservative, where when you have, you know,
high volume, high developer datanecessarily need to be the case.
(16:40):
When it comes to working with that dog, honestly, you know,
they take regulation very seriously as to who can get
outside equipment through the site.
The biggest challenge there is, I know we have a lot of stuff in
the pipeline that we'd like to bring to site, but in order to
get on site, there's a lot you need to go through, right?
I don't understand safety. HSE is your priority number one.
Absolutely. Again, This is why I'm so
(17:02):
excited about the Adnor Technical Academy because it
allows us to bring cutting edge technology, prove it on real
oversight assets classroom, so then we can justify bring down
site, pass the regulation to getinside foot, OK.
I want to ask a question about your career real quick because I
don't know if you were warned, but I do run a career.
I do run a podcast based on career paths and I'm very
(17:26):
curious. Before this you were at Palantir
for about 7 to 8 years. Being ex Palantir is quite a
brand. Are there any key learning
strategies or frameworks that you've brought into your work as
Managing Director and the deployment lead before in the
past for Gecko that you've picked up from your time at
Palantir? Absolutely.
There's actually a lot that goesback right here as well.
For me, it kind of started with just like you, I imagine, a real
(17:51):
genuine passion and enjoyment oftechnology.
Yeah. And, you know, I see it with my
colleagues. I think I see it in you as well.
Thank you. You know, I chose not to pursue
college, university, because I had a job offer, a PayPal and
eBay, which I thought great, I get to get paid to play with all
this tech for free. Yeah.
Yeah, that's kind of where it started.
(18:12):
Talent with me was my university.
That's where everyone around me was so much better than me.
And there's, you know, yes, so eager to level me up and help me
learn themselves available to make sure that I could rise to
their level. So it was absolutely
transformative to me. You know, it didn't just teach
me that work can be fun, but it taught me that work, you know,
(18:34):
it can be a purpose. It can be a high quality.
And the community of people you surround yourself is what can
make the difference, OK. Well, I wish I could go deeper
into your career, quite frankly,because I would very much enjoy
that. But unfortunately, I think I
might get yelled at. And also I want to be respectful
of your time. But thank you so much for
joining me today. It's been a really true pleasure
(18:55):
talking with you. I really appreciate your time.
Thank you, Nicholas. Thank you for having me.
Let's let's get you introduced to Jake as a.
That sounds good. And actually before we go, cuz
we do have a couple more minutes, is there any last
things that you'd like to share that maybe without Gecko or
about your own career or anything before we go?
No, I think, I think I've, I've spoken enough about being.
They just say it's, you know, there's definitely an energy
(19:17):
here out of back. I imagine you've spoken to a lot
of exciting companies. Yeah.
I would encourage anybody to to come check it out.
If you can walk around, speak tothese people, you'll meet a lot
of enthusiastic people like me tell you what they're doing.
And I'd like to extend a thank you to Gosseltar Time and to add
Knock for putting on such an extraordinary event.
Of course, thank you very much. Thank you.
Today I have a very special episode for you all.
I'm here with Harvey Young, Managing Director of Gecko
Robotics Middle East, and we're going to be breaking down the
brand new deal that they just signed with ADNOC and what it
looks like moving forward. So Harvey, thank you so much for
joining me today. Thank you for.
Having me today, Nicholas. All right.
Would you real quick just break down the deal that Gecko
Robotics has with ADNOC recently?
Pleasure. So we have 3 deals they're very
excited to deliver. About the first one is working
(00:23):
on for a very good time now about 18 months is an enterprise
software license for ADNOC gas that rings cantilever Gecko's
planning of AI and robotics to be inspired value painter ADNOC,
Yes. Now the second deal is a
commitment to invest in the ADNOC Technical Academy where
we're going to be training the next generation of operational
(00:43):
leaders and technical experts onthis cutting edge technology as
well as code developing new robotic capabilities to bring to
the field. And then the third deal that
we'll look at is how we fly savemechanisms, the same research
and the same attitude that we have with that no gas to bring
everything I just described to the rest of the day all.
Right. So now that you've secured these
(01:05):
massive deals, do you have a strategy for ensuring that
they're going to be in mutual success?
Absolutely. The first and foremost missed
critical urgent thing that we dois to make sure that our
customers experience the value as quickly as possible.
So that's what led to this success in the first place in
the region. ADNOC gave us a chance.
They saw merging technology, theteam that were motivated and
(01:27):
delighted to be getting dirty getting in the field and point
tech to prove it works. We then use that opportunity to
do nothing other than prove the value, get people excited
throughout the tech. The thing that's really exciting
for me is all of this that's happened so far happened purely
from the engineers at the site level starting the word, the
appreciation for the technology,and that's how we got to where
(01:47):
we all did it. When you say engineers on the
site, well, you mean like ADNOC engineers just learning about
what you're doing outside of youguys and then just bringing that
up to the top? Absolutely.
So the site guys deployed for us, Hubshan, that's Island
Abbott Gases flagship sites where we started operations.
We had a short window to performthe pilot during an incredibly
(02:08):
busy turn around periods where if you get one thing wrong, the
repercussions can be enormous. So, you know, thankfully we're
able to deliver during that pressing time.
And the the repressions of that is that MGS appreciates this and
they invites this for an X1. They then told their friends,
they then told the other side. So before you know, it was
spread across all that, I guess.That's quite impressive,
(02:29):
especially since I know the tendency when you demo
something, everything always goes wrong.
So it really speaks to the strength of the product
honestly, that you were able to have such a successful
exhibition. Absolutely on On the vendor
side, the supply side, the technology side, you often find
that whatever you demo, something inequity goes wrong.
On the customer side, they oftenfind the.
Once you get past the demo level, that's when the
(02:50):
technology starts letting out. Oh, sure.
For us, we knew that this was the point where we had to let
the technology speak for itself and then listen to the customer
and to understand exactly where it worked or it gets.
And that time so rashes from up to run this missile across this
world to make sure the relationship was right.
All right. Awesome.
So now that you've gotten this deal with ADNOC Gas, do you see
(03:10):
Gecko entering other industries outside of energy in this
region? Yeah, we we get asked about this
a lot frankly when we arrived inthe region.
We look to add not not just for the assets, not just for the
operations or for the strategic vision that they saw their
appreciation for technology and the end this.
Now there are other organizations in the region that
(03:31):
have that kind of vision, but nothing that's quite matched out
at least what we've seen. Now the robots themselves have
utility, cross mining, manufacturing, all sorts of, you
know, power utilities is one thing to deploy the robots, it's
enough thing to align with the leaders of those industries so
that they can understand that what we could do today is not
(03:53):
where we're stopping. We're also thinking 5/10/15
years in the future as to what afacility of the future might be
black. Those are the partners that
we're looking with. So we'll sit to the intersection
of ambition and compatibility iswhere we'll go next.
All right. On that related note, ADNOC
moves a lot faster than most of the rest most of this industry.
(04:13):
So now that you've secured this deal with ADNOC, do you see the
rest of the industry coming to more of Gecko robotic type
solutions with advanced analytics?
Do you see that in the future and with Gecko?
I do. I see there are a couple of
trends that I'm seeing at the moment that become we have to
cover all three. The first one is that quite
frankly, software is becoming saturated.
Yeah. So everybody has a digital twin.
(04:34):
They're very good digital trends, am I add, but
everybody's got one. And it's really a question of
which one's going to be most compatible for your organization
and that's what organizations still the right strategy.
Now the other trend I'm seeing is the data feeding these
digital twins is insufficient, OK.
So what we're able to do is to prepare that with our robotics
that can identify the gaps in data, but then go in the field
(04:56):
of collector. So with digital experience, it's
a little richer, a lot more precise, a lot more accurate.
So that's one trend that we're seeing at driving now the other
trend we're seeing as well is what I described about the
operation of the Citizen for keychain.
Now it's one thing to introduce this technology and so maybe
stop ramping up. It's, it's another thing to do
(05:17):
that both care and with attention.
And what I mean by that is if you turn up with a lot of
equipment and most people won't know where to put it.
Yeah, what capacity and there's a lot of trust to ask the
filter. So we need to lay the groundwork
at the moment to create a foundational level of data that
would inform where the roads go and what they do so they can
afford reliability. So if that's the second trend
(05:37):
I'm doing is that organizations like Adlock are investing that
foundation now, preparation for the future.
And then the third trend I'm seeing is a lot of providers are
attracted to the region and for the innovation that the barrier
to entry is high. I mentioned this.
Apply the phase where it's all or nothing and prove it.
You need to get it right. What that means is organizations
(05:57):
like Adlock, they'll give you the window to prove the tech,
but if your tech isn't real deal, yeah, you'll quickly find
out. OK.
So then on that note and as wellon the note of the space being
oversaturated, how has your product suite evolved and now
continues to evolve to meet the needs of your clients?
Absolutely. So you know one of the things I
do with the most about their botics like it in the field, but
(06:19):
as you get to be sure good to surely be any user.
So, you know, we could boy our Toby 5 for example, which is a
robot in the Canadian gay storage tanks.
You know, while we're there, we're talking to other asset
unit operators that tell us about that problems with like
pooling light or flare light speed of preciousness.
Yeah, while we're there, you know, the people inside of them,
(06:40):
they're not sales before, they're engineers.
So they start to battle from thethesis with the customer to go
back to the lab. They start tinkering the robots
and then we introduce the new capability for on the field.
So, you know, that's how our robot evolution is kind of tough
with regards to software, like, you know, building software,
it's it's difficult, but it's not that OK.
(07:01):
What's hard is how you treat your data.
So one of the best investments Ithink Gecko has made long before
IRA was in the handling is how we localize valid every day.
Now anybody that works the robotics.
But now that's the most important thing for probably
Guild your robots how you have the data behavior act Gecko has
(07:21):
been doing that for the past 12 years or so.
So the evolution of data validation has meant that the
richness and the accuracy of thedata gives us such a huge
advantage. He's still operating the
software because the results that dicton analytics have
followed by so that's that's unexpectedly allowed us to leap
fraud with our features that especially with this way that
(07:42):
they are because the barriers entry Pi lowest we start onward
more features. We're finding that our robust
data it's giving us that advantage.
So that's where we're making it really further.
OK, very nice. It seems as well you have a
distinct advantage in working this because of how flat your
organization is having your engineers have a ton of
autonomy. And I was actually speaking with
(08:04):
one of your colleagues on Mondayabout how much he values that.
There's a true startup culture at Gecko Robotics.
How do you think that's been a huge advantage to you, as
outside of just being able to have your engineers make lots of
decision, how do you foster thatas a leader?
Yeah, absolutely. The short answer is, you know,
best idea that's OK whether you're an intern or you're the
(08:25):
CEO and you know, if you, I think you've met Jake, our CEO.
Not yet. Not yet.
Oh, you'll meet him this week for sure.
But if you meet him, you'll findthat you know he.
There's very little ego there. So if you use an intern, come up
with an idea like he'll figure it out.
Just you. It'll make sure that you thought
through a good idea. The next week you could be in
the lab building that idea with a team fight.
And you know, I've seen that breathe into action multiple
(08:48):
times. The flip side of that is you as
a leader, you need to be prepared to be humbled as well.
There have been numerous occasions where I might have put
it wrong, but the the key lessonhere is mess.
Idea wins and we try to operate on a metronomy where you know
people are recognized for those contributions.
Teams form around and it kind ofebbs and flows along that
career. One time you might be manager
(09:09):
leading a product, another time you could be an icy word.
That's all else's idea. We don't really care as long as
the idea is good. That's really honestly sounds
quite incredible. How do you find those people
that are so willing to kind of be going with that flow and
stuff, those self starters, those highly motivated
individuals? Absolutely.
Frankly, it's a, you know, it's a it's a motley crew of misfits.
(09:30):
Yeah, artists and poets and engineers.
It's not always sweet. Sometimes you get things wrong.
Sometimes you might over and lessen a nice because
romantically it looked pretty good.
If the reality is, you know, youlook for people that are crave
their stream ownership very quickly, give them the
responsibility to read it. And what we find is most people
(09:51):
will rise to the occasion. And the ones that don't, the
next time the opportunity comes around, they're more humble and
they think more about how they can enable it as a artist.
But the the short answer is reading for lifetime learners,
people that people that are enthusiastic about tech people
that don't just want to item endof their view screen that will
create they want to get in the film and see these things
(10:12):
working. Yeah they want to build products
and software and see the real world impact they can have
insight those people especially in this digital world,
especially with the new generation what it would impact
and what they do. We're finding what the energy
now all. Right.
That's really exciting. So what's next on your horizon
right now? So, you know, these
(10:32):
announcements, they've been the culmination of a lot of impact
realized ad hoc. Frankly, you've been here for
three years. We've been working mostly, most
exclusively with ad hoc gas. I look at the entire economic
value. You know, we've been the
opportunity. I look at the ambition and
honestly, and I think we could be at a 10X situation this time
(10:52):
next year. Yeah.
So I want to cut my robots the whole finding or the average
sour gas offshore, not just giving them the products that we
have at gas that listings the big shoulder to shoulder of
their engineers coming up with new products, yeah, that are not
just ideated in the UAE, the design fields manufactured and
deployed in the UAE and that eventually across the rest of
(11:14):
the GCC and across North America.
OK. And I'm also wondering about.
Your. Iteration cycle for building
physical robots. Because I think there's an
interesting challenge in this industry where plants have been
designed for human inspection, right?
They're not designed for a robotthat looks like Gecko's
flagship, necessarily to do everything.
So how do you combat that challenge in robot design?
(11:36):
How long does that take? Yeah.
So this is a, this is a really good question.
There's a lot of ways I could take it.
The first thing I'll say quicklyis, you know, I've spoken a lot
about the advantage of being a robot and software company.
There's also disadvantages, right?
The development cycles, as you know, are a lot longer.
Yeah, get it wrong. It's a lot more expensive.
It's just so much more at stake.So you're absolutely right.
There must be incredibly intentional about the road was
(11:58):
we built. And then the second thing you
said is, you know, some of theseassets 50 years old.
You're right. And we're building very long so
that you keep them alive much longer than they were ever
intended to be kept alive. Yeah.
So there's a sustainability aspect.
There are all that we've invested so much in this
critical infrastructure, it's working and you know, we can
make it have a more useful extended life.
(12:19):
So if we can do that, we're absolutely going to do that
because that makes sense for multiple, multiple reasons for,
you know, energy preservation for maintaining through the, but
also do we really want to reinvest in something when the
equipment we've got is just as good?
Yeah. So we build brothers to do to
address that. Now again, the exciting thing
about ADBAR is they're eternallytheir facilities developing new
(12:40):
facilities that will upset that legacy facilities that could
robotics want to do is inform the facility of future not just
people taught us robots, but based on the mountains and
terabytes of data we've collected inform the design
standards both those assets because there's a lot of lessons
we've ordered for damage mechanisms.
That's how we can avoid the future of a better design.
(13:00):
OK. In addition to informing design
based off of what you've seen for damage and maintainability,
what about do you see a future in which plants are designed to
be inspected by robots and not humans?
Take a step further, I see a world where the assets
themselves also keep border inspecting themselves.
OK, so OK, so you know, multi sensor components layered in
(13:23):
between installation of an asset, a docking station where a
robot can be rested and you know, condition based
deployment. As soon as an average text and
susceptibility might be high, the robot immediately deploys to
post their gap. Use your patent signatures based
on that foundation of data layerto look up to identify damage
(13:43):
before it comes damaged in the 1st place.
You know, when we're getting into the sci-fi land now, the
foundational data layer that we're creating.
OK, well honestly what you're describing doesn't even sound
too sci-fi. It sounds a lot like how like a
distributed control system lookslike in a power plant, you know?
So do you see as like literally just almost an incredibly
advanced DCS systems in plants where you're not just monitoring
(14:05):
process controls, but you're also monitoring wall health?
Precisely. OK, So it's a neglected part
from a technology point of view.So the back to part of the
industry, if you think about allof the advanced routes and
technologies, you know, they came from Shell, they came from
process optimization. Yeah, I think we're going to see
the same revolution in asset management as well and take two
services. OK.
That's incredibly exciting. And I know that sensors take
(14:28):
unbelievably long amounts of time to develop.
Do you think that the foundational technology, in
terms of how we can sense these types of things, is there yet?
Yes. So I believe long time to
develop what we're seeing is a different line either across the
time in manufacturing the census.
I probably can't speak about some of the things I've seen in
development just yet. Of course, I've seen incredibly
(14:51):
simple and elegant solutions that are highly graffiti that I
feel expect to be across all accessible for some season 1 the
next time. OK.
And are you doing these things completely?
And how, Sir, you do you depend on like academia, for example,
in sorts of ways? So we have a lot of part ships
for universities, a lot of our, you know, best for Monica
(15:13):
engineers, civil engineers came from Carnegie and not only
firstly, but Sylvania, we're looking at partnerships here at
the UAE, the university, the AI Cliff University.
The the best ideas also come from regulators, believe it or
not, because they can tell you over time how these things
evolve as the risk has evolved. All of these kind of culminate
(15:35):
in what we can do today and whatwe feel is going to happen
tomorrow, and that forms basis of our product pieces.
Nothing Trump's what we see in the third because we just want
to address the most urgent cause.
Yeah. There's a kind of an interesting
paradox or you said where the best ideas come for regulators
when you're working in the UAE, that's not necessarily the
priority is the regulation. So I'm interested, are there any
(15:57):
particular challenges that mightcome out of being active
somewhere that doesn't necessarily take the that
focuses on minimizing regulationto my understanding versus
increasing regulation. Is that something that you might
find to be challenging at some point that they're not
regulating and you're not able to be pushed in certain ways?
(16:18):
To an extent. But I start.
With regulation compliance standards such as SME and
American Training Institute, butthat is still with its own
challenges because the two standards were designed for the
technology of today existed. Yeah.
So a lot of them are based on averages.
A lot of them are conservative, where when you have, you know,
high volume, high developer datanecessarily need to be the case.
(16:40):
When it comes to working with that dog, honestly, you know,
they take regulation very seriously as to who can get
outside equipment through the site.
The biggest challenge there is, I know we have a lot of stuff in
the pipeline that we'd like to bring to site, but in order to
get on site, there's a lot you need to go through, right?
I don't understand safety. HSE is your priority number one.
Absolutely. Again, This is why I'm so
(17:02):
excited about the Adnor Technical Academy because it
allows us to bring cutting edge technology, prove it on real
oversight assets classroom, so then we can justify bring down
site, pass the regulation to getinside foot, OK.
I want to ask a question about your career real quick because I
don't know if you were warned, but I do run a career.
I do run a podcast based on career paths and I'm very
(17:26):
curious. Before this you were at Palantir
for about 7 to 8 years. Being ex Palantir is quite a
brand. Are there any key learning
strategies or frameworks that you've brought into your work as
Managing Director and the deployment lead before in the
past for Gecko that you've picked up from your time at
Palantir? Absolutely.
There's actually a lot that goesback right here as well.
For me, it kind of started with just like you, I imagine, a real
(17:51):
genuine passion and enjoyment oftechnology.
Yeah. And, you know, I see it with my
colleagues. I think I see it in you as well.
Thank you. You know, I chose not to pursue
college, university, because I had a job offer, a PayPal and
eBay, which I thought great, I get to get paid to play with all
this tech for free. Yeah.
Yeah, that's kind of where it started.
(18:12):
Talent with me was my university.
That's where everyone around me was so much better than me.
And there's, you know, yes, so eager to level me up and help me
learn themselves available to make sure that I could rise to
their level. So it was absolutely
transformative to me. You know, it didn't just teach
me that work can be fun, but it taught me that work, you know,
(18:34):
it can be a purpose. It can be a high quality.
And the community of people you surround yourself is what can
make the difference, OK. Well, I wish I could go deeper
into your career, quite frankly,because I would very much enjoy
that. But unfortunately, I think I
might get yelled at. And also I want to be respectful
of your time. But thank you so much for
joining me today. It's been a really true pleasure
(18:55):
talking with you. I really appreciate your time.
Thank you, Nicholas. Thank you for having me.
Let's let's get you introduced to Jake as a.
That sounds good. And actually before we go, cuz
we do have a couple more minutes, is there any last
things that you'd like to share that maybe without Gecko or
about your own career or anything before we go?
No, I think, I think I've, I've spoken enough about being.
They just say it's, you know, there's definitely an energy
(19:17):
here out of back. I imagine you've spoken to a lot
of exciting companies. Yeah.
I would encourage anybody to to come check it out.
If you can walk around, speak tothese people, you'll meet a lot
of enthusiastic people like me tell you what they're doing.
And I'd like to extend a thank you to Gosseltar Time and to add
Knock for putting on such an extraordinary event.
Of course, thank you very much. Thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.