Microsoft Wins $ 480 Million Military Contract To Equip Its Soldiers With HoloLens AR Technology – TechCrunch



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Microsoft is preparing its HoloLens augmented reality technology for combat. The company has just won a $ 480 million military contract with the US government to incorporate AR helmet technology into the weapons directories of US soldiers.

The two-year contract may result in call-ups of more than 100,000 headsets, in accordance with the documentation describing the call for tenders process. One of the slogans of the contract with the AR technician seems to be his ability to allow "25 bloodless battles before the 1st battle", suggesting that real combat training will be a vital part of the helmet's abilities. AR.

"Augmented reality technology will provide troops with better information to make decisions. This new work expands our long-standing trusted relationship with the Department of Defense to this new field, "said a spokesman for Microsoft in a statement sent to TechCrunch.

Magic Leap was also pursuing the contract according to the Bloomberg report. The military contract offer was perhaps a little more exaggerated for the company, which previously claimed that the company's efforts were focused on consumers. The startup has only recently launched its first development kit, while Microsoft technology has been in the hands of developers for over two years.

Part of the documentation (PDF download) surrounding this application is extremely interesting and shows the extent to which the military has conducted extensive research into how augmented reality technology can alter soldiers' training and combat environments.

Clearly, Microsoft would not just consider selling what it was selling to factory workers and putting it on a battlefield, but the system requirements outlined in the contract already seem to overshadow the capabilities of the current generation HoloLens optics, especially FoV of the device that will have a requirement between 55 and 110 degrees.

Other stipulations include that the device does not weigh more than 1.5 kg and is compatible with existing military helmets. The device carried to the head would specifically follow the weapons and allow soldiers to see the simulated fire of their real weapons while offering training with weapons like Javelin missile systems in a completely simulated environment.

These are just early structures, but Microsoft will now develop technologies that will allow the US Armed Forces to remain at the forefront of augmented reality technology, which will likely be a boon for their enterprise-centric solutions.

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