Sun 04 September 2022:
Following years of controversy, Microsoft’s HoloLens project recently received its first order from the United States military.
According to Bloomberg’s report on Thursday, Following the “encouraging results” obtained from the field testing, the tech-giant company is anticipated to deliver the initial unit of the goggles to the military.
The Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) goggles provide a heads-up display and have night vision features for the soldiers on duty in the field, and are based on modifications to HoloLens AR (augmented reality) technology of Microsoft.
The company did not immediately respond regarding the issue.
The first contract with the military for developing combat-modified HoloLens goggles, worth $480 million, dates back to late 2018, which eventually led to internal issues within Microsoft as some employees thought their work was being used to promote violence rather than helping people.
At the end, the pressure within the company did not hinder the deal from happening, as the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, defended the decision in 2019 as “principled” and “aimed to help protect the freedoms we enjoy.”
Bloomberg added that the military could spend up to $22 billion on the IVAS program over the next decade, including maintenance costs.
A final test report is expected to be released next month, with the Army saying it felt “confident that the program will succeed.” In total, it plans to order 121,000 units over the period of a decade.
Not everyone has been onboard with the partnership, as Mashable notes that when Microsoft first penned the contract in 2018, employees within the company were dismayed their work was being used for the battlefield.
The tech giant’s CEO, Satya Nadella, defended the decision, framing it as the company working with the military to help “protect the freedoms we enjoy.”
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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