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Western Australia is leading the military race when it comes to robotics, scoring a lucrative contract with the United States.
A Perth company has developed revolutionary technology to safely evacuate injured soldiers from the battlefield.
Developed in a little warehouse in Osborne Park in Perth's northern suburbs, robotics company Chironix is building the brains for the devices.
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"We're robot psychologists. We basically build the behaviour of the robot," CEO Daniel Milford said.
"If you can imagine that we're basically building an autonomous Uber for the battlefield."
What's destined for the war zone is an autonomous vehicle labelled the Mule, which can carry 800 kilograms and travel for up to 10 hours.
It is programmed to enter the battlefield, safely remove casualties and get them to hospital.
Mr Milford said it could also deliver much needed supplies without endangering the lives of others.
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"So you're pushing food and water to people that need it and at the same time you're taking back what's needed to be returned and usually in this case, it's injured people."
It's been named Project Simpson in honour of one of Australia's significant military figures, ANZAC stretcher bearer John Simpson Kirkpatrick.
"It's designed to be a lot safer. That means if they're injured, they can have a very stable ride back to the hospital and it's about getting people away and to hospital as quickly as possible," Mr Milford said.
The US Military has signed off on a deal with the WA company to supply the technology that can be used in thousands of robots.
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"I know that our office of naval research is really thrilled about this project so we're looking forward to seeing where it goes," US Consul-General David Gainer said.
"This is another example of WA know-how on a big scale."
The United Kingdom may follow the US's lead and has shown interest in the technology.
WA is already a leader in autonomous vehicle technology.
For the resources industry, the state is home to 80 per cent of the world's driverless mining trucks.
Perth companies such as Chironix say it's continually evolving the software so robots can sense demands without a remote control.
It says the technology, while it's funded and supported by the military, can be applied to other industries it's already working with such as utilities, the resources sector and oil and gas.
Source: 9News
