Report: US Army to use Microsoft's IVAS HoloLens in the field in 2023 - MSPoweruser

A caller study (via MIXED) revealed that the US Army is acceptable to officially usage Microsoft’s subject Integrated Audio Visual System (IVAS) HoloLens successful 2023, which is simply a surprise, fixed the reports months agone detailing however troubled the instrumentality was during tests.

Microsoft’s declaration with the authorities of the United States is incredibly immense arsenic it could scope up to $21.9 cardinal successful 10 years, depending connected the project’s success. The concern was welcomed with doubts by many, particularly with the dilatory advancement noticed aft the declaration signing. Then, successful September, it was reported that Microsoft started shipping the archetypal batch of the IVAS combat headsets aft US Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Douglas Bush issued a directive to judge the delivery. Bush said they “did a bully test” and “remains assured that the programme volition succeed.”

However, successful an October study by Bloomberg, it was revealed that the Pentagon bureau trial was a nightmare for immoderate soldiers. According to the trial summary report, 80% of the soldiers experienced “mission-affecting carnal impairments” (including headaches, eyestrain, and nausea) aft wearing the units for 3 hours. In different study accessed by Business Insider, it was stated that the instrumentality adjacent affected the soldier’s show successful the tract owed to its design, similar the agleam airy could alert the enemies. One worker adjacent remarked that “the devices would person gotten america killed.” Microsoft reportedly resolved the contented though it inactive failed to walk the full six valuation procedures astatine that time. Then, a astonishing study this period came, saying the Army volition present usage the IVAS headsets successful the tract adjacent year. Specifically, the instrumentality volition beryllium distributed to the Army’s operational and grooming units, but it is unclear wherever oregon what the soldiers volition usage it for. 

In October, Microsoft mentioned having “no roadmap to talk of” for Hololens since it is trying to absorption connected its Army contract. This mightiness beryllium the effect of that, but it is inactive a enigma however the tech elephantine managed to bash it successful conscionable a substance of 2 months, particularly with nary details to archer what circumstantial areas of IVAS were improved. Also, there’s inactive nary known connection from the US Army that volition clarify if the instrumentality has already ticked each the close spots, but fixed that it volition let the soldiers to usage it successful the existent tract astir apt tells it’s already astatine that level of success. According to MIXED, this volition pb to the transportation of 2 versions of the headsets (IVAS 1.0 and IVAS 1.1). Both volition constitute 5,000 units each, though the differences betwixt the 2 versions are inactive unclear.

If this program and study astir the IVAS are some wholly true, this could mean Microsoft has conscionable resolved 1 of the biggest hurdles successful its HoloLens device, which has a blurry aboriginal owed to the caller antagonistic quality and its “no roadmap to talk of” remark (though Scott Evans, Vice President of Mixed Reality astatine Microsoft, precocious clarified this by saying they are “just looking for the close plan constituent to marque it a meaningful update”). And successful lawsuit everything goes good for the Army, Microsoft could loosen its loop a small soon and absorption connected its adjacent plans for the adjacent HoloLens device.