Perth robotics scale-up homes in on US defence market
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Utilising a US Landing Pad, and Austrade and Department of Defence support, Perth-based Chironix’s breakthrough technology is gaining traction with the US Navy.

Chironix was founded in late 2017 by Daniel Milford, a former Department of Defence employee. Having worked as deputy director for technology solutions in the public service, Milford identified the growing potential for machine-learning and robotics to dramatically reshape the human experience in the workplace.

What fascinated Milford most was the human interface: how humans interact with robots effectively while robots start to learn and operate for themselves.

Perth was a natural home for Chironix, with the fast-growing offshore oil and gas sector triggering demand for bespoke, home-grown robotics.

Milford established the business with three core elements:

  • developing autonomous vehicles;

  • building machine-learning software to help robots react to their environment; and

  • optimising ways to enhance human–robot interactions through wearable technologies.

One of the company’s biggest challenges was how to get the attention of the global defence industry, especially in the US – the world’s biggest defence market.

"I encountered the Landing Pads program in Singapore where an associate was attending the program. It got me thinking about a US Landing Pad and its potential for generating contacts in the US defence industry for Chironix," explained Milford. Read full article where Perth-based Chironix’s breakthrough technology gains traction with the US Navy.