Microsoft To Equip US Military With Combat-Ready HoloLens Goggles
It’s finally happened—Microsoft’s HoloLens has officially received its first order from the United States military.
According to Bloomberg, the initial order of 5,000 goggles had been on hold since last year, but was recently “cleared” to proceed following more in-depth testing.
The customized device, which uses the company’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), will provide a “heads-up display” for soldiers on the ground, allowing commanders to project information onto visors in front of the troops’ faces.
“Soldiers will be able to rehearse and train in more realistic scenarios using augmented reality (AR) to prepare themselves for what they are walking into,” said Master Sergeant Marc Krugh in a blog post last year.
A final test report is expected to be released next month, with the Army saying it felt “confident that the program will succeed.” In total, it plans to order 121,000 units over the period of a decade.
Not everyone has been onboard with the partnership, as Mashable notes that when Microsoft first penned the contract in 2018, employees within the company were dismayed their work was being used for the battlefield.
The tech giant’s CEO, Satya Nadella, defended the decision, framing it as the company working with the military to help “protect the freedoms we enjoy.”
