GECKO

MAGNETIC ADHESION INSPECTION CRAWLER – UT | MFL | UHD VISION

Gridbots GECKO is a compact, magnetic-adhesion crawler that climbs vertical, inclined, curved and overhead steel surfaces to deliver complete non-destructive inspection in a single deployment – ultrasonic wall thickness, Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) corrosion mapping and ultra-high resolution visual inspection.

It replaces scaffolding, rope access and confined-space entry for inspection of storage tanks, boiler waterwalls, pressure vessels, pipelines, chimneys, ship hulls and wind towers – cutting inspection time and keeping people out of hazardous areas.

Built in aircraft-grade aluminium with an array of NdFeB magnets and active stand-off compensation, GECKO holds a constant sensor-to-surface distance while encoders and a 6-DOF IMU position every reading to 0.1 mm. All data is fused into colour-coded thickness maps, MFL corrosion maps and geo-tagged images that generate an inspection report directly from the controller.

ROBOT CONTROLLER & INSPECTION SOFTWARE

The rugged GECKO controller drives the crawler and runs the inspection software on a sunlight-readable HDMI touch display. The operator sees live camera feeds, UT A-scan and thickness values, MFL channel traces and the robot’s position on the surface – all on one screen.

Readings are stitched into C-scan thickness maps and MFL corrosion maps in real time. Alarm thresholds highlight areas below minimum allowable thickness, and one-click reporting exports PDF reports, CSV data and images for asset-integrity and fitness-for-service assessment.

Inspection Sensors

Three complementary technologies on one crawler – each finds what the others can miss.

DETECTION CAPABILITY

Condition	UT	MFL	UHD Camera
Remaining wall thickness	✔ Precise	✔ Estimated	—
General corrosion / wall loss	✔	✔	Surface only
Pitting (top and under side)	✔ Point	✔ Area screening	Top side only
Laminations	✔	—	—
Surface cracks	—	Limited	✔
Coating damage / blistering	—	—	✔
Weld surface defects	—	—	✔
Erosion on boiler tubes	✔	✔	✔

Features

Applications

Inspection Data

GECKO turns every scan into decision-ready data. Below are representative outputs from a storage tank shell survey – the same views are available live on the controller and in the exported report.

ULTRA-HD VISUAL INSPECTION

Charts and summary show representative data for illustration. Actual performance depends on material, surface condition, coatings and calibration.

INSPECTION WORKFLOW

GECKO vs. CONVENTIONAL INSPECTION

Parameter	Manual / Rope Access	Gridbots GECKO
Access	Scaffolding, man-lift or rope access	Magnetic climbing – no scaffolding
Data density	Spot readings on a coarse grid	Continuous mapping, up to 1 mm grid
Position accuracy	Approximate, hand-marked	0.1 mm encoder + IMU tagged
Repeatability	Operator dependent	Repeatable scans for trend monitoring
Safety exposure	Work at height / confined space	Operator on the ground
Asset downtime	Days for scaffold erection	Hours
Reporting	Manual compilation	Automatic maps & PDF report

Specifications

CRAWLER

Model Series	GB-GECKO
Wheels	Four Powered Magnetic Wheels
Magnets Used	Array of NdFeB Magnets with Active Stand-off Compensation
Adhesion Force	100 Kg
Payload	Up to 10 Kg
Crawling / Scanning Speed	Maximum of 10 mm/sec
Encoder Motion Resolution	0.1 mm Increments
IMU	100 Hz – 6 DOF
Surface Orientation	Horizontal, Vertical, Inclined, Overhead
Min. Pipe / Curvature Diameter	300 mm (convex & concave)
Min. Surface Thickness	4 mm ferromagnetic steel
Provided Cable Length	10 / 20 / 30 / 50 / 100 Meters
Robot Weight	8 – 14 Kgs [Various Model Variants]
Power	12V – 20A [400 Watts Peak]
Remote Control	Tether Cabled [Kevlar Wire Rope]
Build Material	Aircraft Grade Aluminum and SS316

ULTRASONIC (UT) MODULE

Technique	Pulse-Echo, Echo-to-Echo (through coating)
Probe Types	Dual-Element / Single-Element with Delay Line or Wheel Probe
Probe Frequency	2.25 – 10 MHz (interchangeable)
Thickness Range	1.0 – 100 mm (steel)
Accuracy	±0.1 mm
Display Resolution	0.01 mm
Coating Penetration	Up to 2 mm (echo-to-echo)
Couplant	Water, Auto-Fed with Onboard Pump
Data Views	A-Scan, B-Scan, C-Scan Thickness Map

MFL MODULE

Sensor Type	Hall-Effect Sensor Array
Channels	16 / 32 (variant dependent)
Scan Width per Pass	150 mm / 300 mm
Plate Thickness Range	4 – 15 mm
Detection Threshold	Metal loss ≥ 20% of wall thickness
Defect Location	Top-side and Under-side discrimination
Max. Coating Thickness	Up to 6 mm non-magnetic
Data Views	Channel Traces, Colour-coded Corrosion Map

VISION SYSTEM

Inspection Camera	4K UHD (3840 × 2160), 10× Optical Zoom
Navigation Cameras	3 FHD [1 Front Down Facing, 1 Mid Down Facing, 1 Rear Down Facing]
Lighting	Dimmable High-CRI LED Array
Image Tagging	Position, Timestamp, Orientation
Recording	Video & Still Capture to Controller Storage

SOFTWARE & REPORTING

Controller Display	Sunlight-Readable HDMI Touch Display
Live Views	Cameras, UT A-Scan, MFL Traces, Robot Position
Mapping	Real-Time C-Scan & Corrosion Maps
Alarms	User-set t-min and Wall-Loss Thresholds
Export Formats	PDF Report, CSV, JPG / MP4
Trend Comparison	Overlay of Repeat Inspections

ENVIRONMENTAL & SAFETY

IP Rating	65
Operating Temperature	5°C to 65°C
Max. Surface Temperature	80°C
Humidity	95%, Non-Condensing
TOF Sensors (Edge / Obstacle)	4x
Adhesion Monitoring	Continuous, with Auto-Stop
E-Stop	2x
Fall Arrest	Kevlar Safety Rope Anchor

Gallery

Media

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