Military Smart Goggles - The U.S. Army recently awarded a major contract to Microsoft for the production of new advanced display systems that could be worth more than $22 billion over the next decade. These helmet mounting systems use sensors similar to those found in recent generations of night vision goggles and others. In addition, they will have the ability to manage large amounts of information from a variety of sources, including the status board, improved promotion conditions, and other potential game-changing benefits.

The Army announced the deal to manufacture the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) on March 31, 2021, but said it was actually signed five days earlier. The contract includes a "five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) order period" and a "five-year option for CLS [contract logistics support]." he said. Breach of security.

Military Smart Goggles

Military Smart Goggles

It is not clear how many IVAS units the Army may purchase, but in the past there has been talk of purchasing about 40,000 of these systems. The US Marine Corps and US Special Operations Forces may also return to those commands in the future.

Army Soldier Talking On Smart Phone Against Blue Sky Stock Photo

"IVAS integrates multiple technologies into one structure that enables the soldier to fight, train and exercise using one platform," the Army said in a March press release. 31. "Advanced night vision, thermal and military-grade equipment are integrated into the Heads Up Display to provide improved visibility, target orientation and decision-making clarity needed to engage larger current and future adversaries."

IVAS is the military version of Microsoft's commercial HoloLens augmented reality system. The company started selling the first generation of Hololens in 2016.

The first IVAS prototype versions, also known as Capability Set 1 and 2 or CS1 and CS2, were good HoloLens with some modifications to meet the needs of the Army. These systems were not powerful enough for military use, especially in rain. As of 2019, the current version, called Capability Set 3 (CS3), is more robust and has just been introduced to cold weather testing in Alaska.

U.S. Army General John Murray, head of the Army Futures Command, first tested the IVAS prototype in 2019., U.S. Army

New Rollout For The Army's $22 Billion 'mixed Reality' Combat Goggles

As mentioned earlier, the goal of IVAS is to provide each soldier with a wealth of capabilities and critical information, in broad strokes, in the manner expected from a helmet display used by fighter jet pilots. Placing all of this information on a helmet-mounted visor is in theory very similar to the high-visibility helmet used by pilots. An upgraded version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

IVAS has night vision and thermal video cameras, which help people to see at night or smoke, dust, etc. through fogging devices, allowing you to see like regular night vision or filter lenses. It will be possible to combine those feeds to increase the reliability and other advantages offered by these types of simulations in different environments.

As a result, the system can automatically recognize and record the user's interests and IVAS reports, which can help in the correct identification of four persons during attacks. In the future, special measures can help to quickly identify potential dangers that are not immediately visible, especially in a fire that is easy to do a little violence. As you can see in the video below, such capabilities are already integrated into systems installed in large engines in cars.

Military Smart Goggles

IVAS can also transmit video feed from a compatible attachment mounted on a rifle, carbine or machine gun, allowing operators to see around corners or other hard-to-reach places without exposing yourself to something important. degrees to enemy fire. In the same way, things that feed the sensor from the surface, including video cameras mounted on aircraft or drones, including small drones that each soldier can install themselves, as well as ground vehicles can be seen directly in the visor.

Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 Announced For $999

"In the past, when an infantryman was landing [from a vehicle] on a target, you might have a screen where you could switch between the driver's or the commander's view or the gunners. View or maybe you're looking at the periscope blocks or asking the crew themselves what's going on around you," he said. Army First Sergeant Joshua Braley after participating in an IVAS test with the new remote sensing systems installed on M2 Bradley .Infantry Combat Vehicles and Stryker wheeled armored vehicles earlier this year.

A soldier wearing an IVAS headset stands on a box in a Stryker vehicle during a test in 2021., US Army

"It changes the way we operate with integrity," said Army Sgt. "Now people aren't hanging out of cars in dangerous situations trying to get an idea of ​​what's going on."

In this particular test, a combination of IVAS and vehicle-mounted cameras allowed soldiers in the back to "see" inside the body as it happened outside. This is similar to how the Distributed Aperture System (DAS) works on the F-35. Various branches of the US military, as well as other militaries and private companies around the world, have already learned how to use the same technology in other aircraft as well as ground vehicles and ships.

Making The Transition Out Of The Military

Many of these vision enhancements are already offered by night vision devices such as the Army's Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binoculars (ENVG-B). You can read more about these glasses here.

The biggest additional power that IVAS brings to the table is its additional functionality. This means that map and route information, locations of enemy forces or civilians, etc. Because of how IVAS is built, such a representation can be displayed on a flat screen as if it were superimposed on the object in question, such as buildings or other maps, rather than just symbols.

"The system also uses augmented reality and machine learning to create a real-life mixed environment that allows the CCF to practice before engaging any enemy," the Army said in a statement. What the service is talking about here is developing capabilities to simulate enemies and other objects, including cars or buildings, that can be integrated into real-world training. This is a capability that a company called Red 6 has also developed for air combat training, as you can read more about in these articles.

Military Smart Goggles

Advanced training holds the promise of executing large-scale maneuvers involving large-scale deployments of enemy forces without physically modeling all aspects of the exercise. This, in turn, provides cost savings and opens up the possibility of using less energy-efficient devices for complex training.

Microsoft Has \

This can help facilitate complex training involving personnel both on the ground and in the air. Red 6's Dan Robinson explained this practical use of augmented reality media to aid in education as well as practical situations.

Let me give you an example, if there's a specific person on the ground calling for an attack, say a tank or a farmhouse or something like that, and that's a training example, well, it's not. he Well, if that tank is manufactured aggressively and the person on the ground is in our AR system, talk to the person on their plane who will drop a smartbomb on that tank or something like that? Wouldn't it be great if they could see the same general picture in an expanded world? And we call it cumulative division because it's so precise. We're probably solving the most difficult problem because airplanes fly hundreds of miles an hour in three directions, well, if we solve that, we've solved it for a tank, a boat. , whatever is on the ground. The ability to connect those individuals represents a truly exciting and massive marketing opportunity. And it doesn't end there. I touched on this earlier because I think that while there is a lot of education for this, there are also a lot of practical applications through this technology.

Let me give you an example, boys and girls fighting for their lives on the ground trying to call for help from nearby. For the person who will be cramped on the plane

Military drone range, laser range finder military, military range bags, military range targets, long range military radio, military radio range, military range finder, military long range binoculars, range rover military discount, military range rover, range of military drones, military range bag