HII, GMR to explore use of AI in shipbuilding

HII and GrayMatter Robotics (GMR) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to investigate the use of the latter’s Physical AI in shipbuilding operations.

The companies signed the MoU at GMR’s headquarters. HII maritime systems and corporate strategy, executive vice president Eric Chewning and GrayMatter Robotics CEO and co-founder, Ariyan Kabir were both present at the event on 6 April 2026.

Under this partnership, HII and GMR intend to implement autonomous technologies to shipbuilding, including surface preparation, coating, and inspection solutions.

The partners will explore and develop future initiatives in several areas, such as advancing autonomous shipbuilding capabilities, incorporating GMR technologies into other technology projects within the shipbuilding industry. They will also provide workforce training to broaden automation and increase the pace and capacity of unmanned system production.

HII anticipates that the partnership will speed up production, reinforce the maritime industrial base, and support the shipbuilding workforce.

Chewning said: “By working with new partners like GMR we can further augment our workforce and speed up US Navy shipbuilding production. I look forward to jointly developing autonomous AI-based manufacturing solutions and integrating them into our High-Yield Production Robotics (HYPR) initiative that leverages physical AI technologies to our shipbuilding processes.

“Navigating this transformational partnership has the potential to increase our throughput efficiency without sacrificing quality.”

HII said that its shipbuilders are currently combining digital tools, modernised facilities, and traditional craftsmanship to manufacture complex ships for the US Navy.

Although recent advances in automation and artificial intelligence have brought new tools for certain processes, tasks such as sandblasting, grinding, and coating still demand manual skill to meet quality requirements.

The company expects AI-driven solutions from companies like GMR to automate repetitive tasks, improve consistency, and accelerate output to meet the growing demand of the US Navy.

Kabir said: “We are partnering with HII to solve difficult problems. We will push to drive down delivery time, build our arsenal, build the essential components for our war fighters, and we have to do this very, very quickly.”