What They Say
Bloomberg reported that ‘more than 80%’ of US soldiers that used the IVAS customised Microsoft Hololens headset experienced “mission-affecting physical impairments” such as eye strain within three hours. The information was reported in a Pentagon test report. The report recommended that the army “prioritise improvements” before widespread deployment to reduce “physical discomfort of users.” Guertin also advised that issues with the low-light sensors, display clarity, field of view and reliability of some important functions of the glasses needed to be addressed.
What We Think
I remember attending a talk at the Fraunhofer HH Institute in Berlin when it was pointed out that the effects of prolonged VR headset use were ‘the equivalent of jetlag’. Many soldiers on active service will be suffering from worse than that, but they really won’t want to use a piece of equipment that contributes to them feeling worse. I suspect that Microsoft may have known that this kind of feedback was coming and that may be why the firm has rolled back its plans to develop the technology. (BR)
