BLUF
Innovative thinking has transformed Microsoft’s ‘Hololens’ virtual reality headsets, designed for the gaming/entertainment industry, into a potential capability force multiplier for the US Army.Summary
Microsoft has secured a massive $29b contract with the US Army to supply Hololens Headsets. These headsets represent innovative thinking by taking a gaming/entertainment device and adapting it to military operational scenarios. These systems are reported to help troops gain an advantage in the battlespace. Worth noting that the battlespace is becoming increasingly urban, congested, dark and unpredictable. These headsets could be used for both training and in actual battle. Headsets integrate thermal night vision and facial recognition to provide soldiers with 'real-time analytics' during operations. One operational application is training troops for a hostage rescue by creating a 'digital twin' of the building or area in which the hostage is held. The USAF already uses Integrated Visual Augmentation Systems in the F-35 JSF. Think about how the ADF could use virtual reality headsets.
References
- 2021 Atomic Object 7 Things about Microsoft Hololens
- Mar 2021 BBC Microsoft to sell augmented reality goggles to army
- Mar 2021 The Verge Microsoft is supplying 120,000 HoloLens-based headsets to the US Army
- Mar 2021 Microsoft Army moves Microsoft HoloLens-based headset from prototyping to production phase
- Mar 2021 Bloomberg Microsoft $22 Billion U.S. Army Deal for HoloLens Advances
- Mar 2021 Technica HoloLens for 120,000 Army personnel: Microsoft inks $21.9 billion deal
- Mar 2021 CNET US Army is deploying Microsoft HoloLens-based headsets in a $21.88 billion deal
