In 2018, Microsoft won a $479 million deal to develop a prototype headset based on HoloLens for the US Army. The military believes that AR can provide soldiers with a visual advantage, similar to the impact of night-vision goggles in the past. AR systems could allow soldiers to recognize and track friendly forces, identify enemies, map terrain, and interact with unmanned vehicles, offering improved situational awareness in combat situations.
However, according to a report in Bloomberg, AR systems like Microsoft’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) have faced issues such as nausea and eyestrain during testing. Congress froze nearly $400 million in funds for IVAS until these problems could be addressed. Consequently, the army awarded a new contract worth $125 million to develop an improved variant of the technology.
What We Think
If you compare AR technology in the military to the use of something like night-vision googles then, yes, you have a compelling reason for the tech. There is something to be said for the notion that the US military, probably the most powerful source of funding that the industry is ever going to find, is going to be keep hopes alive for solutions that will eventually filter into mainstream devices.
It seems like deep pockets and infinite patience is what it is going to take to realize pragmatic AR glasses. It may also be that only deep pockets can afford to leverage the technology in any meaningful way because the ceiling for what the military bear for the price of AR glasses is very, very high, provided they are truly capable of delivering results in the field.
The US military is propping up a significant amount of drone technology R&D as it pursues unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) superiority. It looks like it could do the same for AR devices. After all, the price of a soldier’s life is immeasurable. And who better than a trained professional combatant to withstand the physical rigors and stresses of using AR glasses. At least until the technology is ready for the battlefield.
