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Perth engineering company Chironix has secured a $13.6 million US Navy contract to develop technology that helps autonomous vehicles carry injured personnel more safely from the battlefield.
The contract, awarded through the US Office of Naval Research, will continue the development of Chironix’s Project Guardian Daemon.
In modern conflicts, wounded personnel are often a long way from medical support, and sending people in to evacuate them can put more lives at risk. Autonomous vehicles offer a way to move casualties from dangerous areas across long distances quickly, without sending another crew into harm’s way.
Project Guardian Daemon enables an autonomous vehicle to understand the conditions its passenger is experiencing and adjust how it drives. The system monitors shock, vibration and environmental conditions throughout the journey, allowing the vehicle to change its behaviour to reduce the risk of making existing injuries worse.
Dr Timothy Bentley, program officer for Force Health Protection at the Office of Naval Research, said solving the problem required several technologies to work together.
“This is an integration problem, not a component problem,” Dr Bentley said.
“It requires information about the patient, sensing of the ride and environmental conditions they are experiencing, a vehicle that can respond to that information, and software that brings it all together in real time. The challenge is making all of those elements work together when it matters.”
The award marks Chironix’s fourth consecutive contract with the US Office of Naval Research, following two phases of Project Simpson and the first phase of Project Guardian Daemon. The work builds on Chironix’s growing expertise in intelligent mission systems.
“Getting a casualty off the battlefield isn’t good enough if the journey makes their injuries worse,” said Chironix CEO Daniel Milford.
“The challenge is getting them to medical care as quickly as possible, without the journey itself doing more harm.”
Work has already commenced at Chironix’s Malaga facility, with the contract expected to support additional engineering jobs in Perth over the life of the project. Chironix will also exhibit at Land Forces 2026 in Perth from 6 to 8 October.
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