Soldiers with superhuman vision, instantly aware of hidden threats and armed with real-time battlefield data. It sounds like science fiction, but this futuristic scenario may become a reality thanks to a new partnership between Microsoft and defense tech startup Anduril Industries.
The two companies are joining forces to upgrade the U.S. Army's mixed-reality headsets, marking a significant leap forward in military wearable technology. At the heart of this collaboration is the integration of Anduril's Lattice software into the Army's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS).
These enhanced goggles, based on Microsoft's HoloLens technology, aim to transform how soldiers perceive and interact with their environment. Anduril's Lattice platform acts as a digital sixth sense, pulling in data from drones, vehicles, and defense systems to alert wearers of incoming threats – even those beyond visual range.
"The idea is to enhance soldiers," says Palmer Luckey, Anduril's founder and former Oculus VR creator. "Their visual perception, audible perception — basically to give them all the vision that Superman has, and then some, and make them more lethal."
The IVAS program, potentially worth up to $21.9 billion over a decade, aims to equip soldiers with advanced heads-up displays. These goggles offer features like night vision and threat detection. However, the project has faced challenges, with early versions causing users to experience headaches and nausea.
Microsoft has since refined the system, creating a slimmer version that has received positive feedback from the Army. The latest iteration, IVAS 1.2, is currently undergoing testing.
Anduril's involvement brings new capabilities to the IVAS platform. The Lattice software can alert soldiers to incoming threats detected by various systems, even when these threats are beyond visual range. This integration is designed to speed up early warning systems and increase soldier survival rates.
Robin Seiler, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Mixed Reality, emphasized the transformative potential of this collaboration. "Through integration across existing and new software and sensors, IVAS brings a full picture of the battlefield to every soldier, enabling safer and more effective operations," Seiler stated.
For Luckey, this project represents a full-circle moment. After selling Oculus to Facebook (now Meta) for $2 billion in 2014, he's back in the headset game – but this time, the battlefield is real. Backed by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, Anduril has quickly made a name for itself by adapting commercial innovations for military use.
While the IVAS program shows promise, it still faces hurdles. The Army is currently evaluating all its night vision devices, including IVAS, to determine optimal usage and distribution. The results of this analysis, expected this fall, could influence future requirements and potential competitions for the next iteration of IVAS.
As global tensions rise and technology—especially AI—advances, projects like IVAS may become standard in the future of combat. The line between science fiction and military reality is blurring faster than ever before, raising both excitement and concerns about the evolving nature of warfare in the 21st century.