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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.
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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.
In late 2018, Chironix won an initial contract with the US Navy to help develop a medical evacuation robot for injured servicemen, complete with a heads-up display system for medical professionals to relay casualties’ vital signs in real time to battlefield hospitals.
This was a breakthrough contract which demonstrated the business prospects in the US and required capitalisation.
To service the contract and grow the business, Milford wanted to meet the key commercial and military stakeholders in the US – and show them what the technology developed by Chironix could do.
Milford added, "By good fortune, Austrade’s Landing Pads program had scheduled a dual civilian-defence Landing Pad in the US from May to August 2019. We applied, we succeeded, we went – the process was very fast."
The dual-use Landing Pad program was a joint Austrade, Department of Defence and CSIRO initiative, driven by the Australian government’s Defence Export Strategy. It leveraged the networks and expertise of all three organisations to deliver a customised offering.
The program was structured to accommodate small companies that may not have the capacity to place one person permanently overseas for the full three-month residency.
Milford flew periodically to the US for specific events, while a Chironix marketing consultant was based at a shared office facility in San Francisco for most of the period.
The Landing Pads program delivered value in multiple areas. For example, commercial advisory services gave Milford a good grasp of what would be needed to set up a registered commercial entity in the US.
Conversely, meetings with multiple figures in the defence industry made it clear that creating a commercial presence in the US was not an immediate prerequisite.
"Before the Landing Pad, one of my biggest challenges was figuring out if, when and how to invest in setting up a US office. After the Landing Pad, I knew that for the immediate future, I could grow my US business from Australia. But I also discovered the essential trigger points for setting up a US office and what would be required. Now we know we can expand quickly in the US when the time is right," Milford explained.
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) is the Australian government’s international trade promotion and investment attraction agency.
Its Landing Pad program assists Australian scale-ups to enter new markets abroad with introductions to strategic stakeholders and tailored business advice.
Austrade delivers quality trade and investment services to businesses to grow Australia’s prosperity. Austrade does this by generating and providing market information and insights, promoting Australian capability, and facilitating connections through its extensive global network.
For more information on international export opportunities for defence and dual-use companies, contact Austrade at
