Microsoft signs $ 22 billion contract with US military for HoloLens 2 Battlefield Tech



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Following a prototyping phase started in 2019, Microsoft and the US military have announced that they are moving to a production phase of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), based on HoloLens 2 technology, through a contract worth maximum of $ 22 billion.

In 2019, Microsoft announced that it was working with the U.S. military to prototype and test the IVAS system, an AR headset designed both for training and for use in the live, technology-based battlefield. Microsoft’s HoloLens 2.

Image courtesy Microsoft

What started as a $ 480 million deal has now grown into a contract worth up to $ 21.88 billion, according to Microsoft, with an initial five-year timeline and an option for an additional five years. .

The US military announced the contract last week as a “fixed-price production agreement for the manufacture of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS)” to move the project into a “production and commissioning phase.” quick”.

According to the U.S. military, the IVAS system is designed to streamline existing immersive training and vision enhancement capabilities into a single platform.

“The suite of capabilities takes advantage of the high-resolution night, thermal, and soldier-worn sensors integrated into a unified heads-up display to provide enhanced situational awareness, target engagement and informed decision-making necessary to achieve an over alignment against current and future opponents. “Writes the US military. “The system also takes advantage of augmented reality and machine learning to create a realistic mixed reality training environment so that the close combat force can rehearse before engaging opponents.

Microsoft and the US military describe the IVAS project as a “non-traditional” collaboration between the military and a tech company, rather than a defense contractor. The organizations claim that the direct collaboration significantly increased the development speed of the project.

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