Iván Hernández Dalas: HII partners with Path Robotics, GrayMatter Robotics to accelerate shipbuilding
Path Robotics’ latest release is the Rove mobile robotic welding system. | Source: Path Robotics
HII, Path Robotics, and GrayMatter Robotics this week introduced the High-Yield Production Robotics, or HYPR, program. It seeks to use a network of emerging physical AI technologies from Path Robotics and GrayMatter Robotics to rapidly accelerate advanced, adaptive automation in the fabrication process of both crewed and uncrewed naval platforms.
“Integrating our partnerships into one HYPR team will enable us to leverage each other’s best-in-class capabilities to accelerate shipbuilding throughput, strengthen the maritime industrial base, and augment our shipbuilding work,” said Eric Chewning, executive vice president of maritime systems and corporate strategy at HII. “This HYPR initiative will allow us to apply next-generation robotics to complex, variable shipbuilding tasks that have been difficult to fully automate.”
HYPR, developed with support from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Dark Sea Labs Advanced Technology Group, will combine robotic welding, automated material movement, autonomous surface treatment, and autonomous quality checks into an assembly line designed to produce increased speed and efficiency of ship and submarine construction.
“[Welding] is the most important task. It’s the most expensive task, and it’s the most destructive task,” Andy Lonsberry, Path Robotics’ CEO and co-founder, told The Robot Report. “In general assembly, if you drop a part, it’s OK. Let’s just pick it up and put it there. With welding, if you miss a weld or you put a hole in the part, it’s over.”
In 2026, HII plans to run proof-of-concept demonstrations with its partners. The Newport News, Va.-based company said it expects to launch the full pilot program in 2027.
HII deepens partnerships with Path Robotics, GrayMatter
Instead of adding standalone automation tools, HYPR combines multiple systems into a single coordinated production line. The pilot program brings together technologies from two automation firms:
- Path Robotics: Physical AI for manufacturing
- GrayMatter Robotics: Factory SuperIntelligence (FSI) for surface preparation, finishing, coating, and inspection
HII first partnered with Path in February. At the time, the companies signed a memorandum of understanding to explore integrating Path’s physical AI for welding into shipbuilding operations. Earlier this month, the company also launched Rove, a mobile robotic welding system that pairs the company’s Obsidian physical AI with a quadruped robot.
GrayMatter partnered with HII earlier this month with similar plans to integrate its physical AI into shipbuilding.
Together, these systems are starting work on the highly specialized and interconnected steps of structural fabrication and assembly, which directly influence cost, schedule, and the need for outside suppliers on major maritime programs.
“[HII] has millions of hours of welding that they need to do every single year,” Lonsberry said. “They’ve got a massive, multi-billion-dollar backlog that they need to aggressively attack. The timing is right now, and they need a solution to augment their workforce.”
HII will provide shipbuilding expertise, production demand, and qualification pathways. In return, the partners will contribute engineering investment and deliver cost-competitive materials, along with automation systems that can scale across programs.
U.S. pushes for faster shipbuilding
From left to right: Ariyan Kabir, CEO of GrayMatter Robotics; Eric Chewning, executive vice president of maritime systems and corporate strategy at HII; and Andy Lonsberry, CEO of Path Robotics. | Source: HII
The program reflects a broader push within U.S. defense to expand naval capacity, modernize shipbuilding, and bring more scalable manufacturing methods into production to support building the nation’s “golden fleet.”
“This partnership is a step toward increasing industrial capacity in one of the most critical sectors for national security,” said Ariyan Kabir, co-founder and CEO of Carson, Calif.-based GrayMatter Robotics. “We’ve already deployed our systems across demanding production environments across industries, and this collaboration allows us to apply and scale that capability further within shipbuilding, alongside Path and HII.”
Production of critical material for integration into U.S. Navy platforms remains one of the main constraints in shipbuilding and submarine construction, acknowledged Path Robotics. It noted that complex assemblies in particular require seamless coordination of many specialized skills and tasks to compress production cycle times.
HYPR is designed for adaptive automation across the full structural process, from cutting and fitting parts to surface prep, welding, inspection, blasting, and coating.
“We see this urgency really coming across the board on the shipbuilding side,” said Lonsberry. “There’s just a need for production, a need that they’ve never seen before. Everyone in the industry is calling it the renaissance of shipbuilding, and they all need to start increasing productivity.”
Editor’s note: Path Robotics co-founder and CEO Andy Lonsberry will participate in the panel on “Productizing AI in Robotic Systems” at the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston next month. Register now to attend.
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