Microsoft's ambitions in the mixed reality market find a promising new horizon. The HoloLens glasses, initially launched in 2016 without achieving success in the consumer market, and later directed towards the business field with equally disappointing results, have found a new ally in the United States Army.
The latter has invested more than $20 billion in its technological modernization project, which seeks to provide its soldiers with mixed reality devices. Microsoft has partnered with the US military to make this ambitious goal a reality, providing prototypes of its glasses for evaluation.
The project, called IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System), initially encountered significant challenges. More than 80% of soldiers who tested early versions of the HoloLens experienced dizziness and nausea, raising questions about its viability. However, rather than ending the partnership, the Army's Operational Test and Evaluation Office suggested working together with Microsoft to improve the glasses' performance.
Requested improvements included optimizing sensors for nighttime performance, screen clarity, field of view, and reliability of basic functions. In response, Microsoft released IVAS 1.2 in July, an evolution of mixed reality glasses designed for military use. Twenty prototypes of these glasses were distributed between two squads of soldiers, who, after extensive testing, praised their performance.
Army spokesman David Patterson noted that this new version addressed many of the previous concerns, including overall reliability and low-light performance. Most importantly, the problems with dizziness and nausea were completely resolved, Patterson reported, citing "positive feedback" from soldiers.
Despite this progress, the project is far from over. Microsoft and the US Government have signed a new agreement that stipulates the delivery of additional devices for a second round of intensive testing scheduled between April and June 2025. In this phase, Microsoft will be required to provide "pre-production" devices to demonstrate its mass production capacity.
If the project continues to advance as planned, the next step will be the implementation of these glasses in various units of the Armed Forces. The US Government plans to invest up to $21.9 billion to purchase approximately 121,000 devices, which will include support and spare parts.
The possibility of seeing soldiers equipped with these mixed reality glasses is getting closer and could mark an important milestone in the adoption of this technology in military and similar applications.
