Microsoft Wins $480 Million Augmented Reality Army Contract Amid Employee Protests
The Department of the Army awarded a $480 million contract to Microsoft msft on Nov. 28 for an advanced augmented reality system that will almost certainly build on the work the company has put into its HoloLens system.
The winning bidder has to deliver 2,500 systems within two years that can perform a set of basic capabilities. The contract could ultimately lead to a purchase of over 100,000 highly advanced head-mounted systems for offensive and defense use in operations.
The Integrated Visual Augmentation System has a series of stages through which the Army wants a company to proceed, starting with this first award to Microsoft that specifies a minimal set of capabilities could be achieved with commercially available technology today. However, the subsequent stages quickly stepping up to hardware that outstrips anything now available publicly or known to exist in government hands.
The initial request for proposals said the ideal weight of the gear would be no more than four pounds between head-mounted equipment—which must not require a helmet, but must also work with standard helmets—and any pack worn on the body. But the Army’s ideal is just over two pounds.
The system will need machine learning to identify objects and targets, and use artificial intelligence algorithms to suggest routes, detect threats (like tripwires), and alert a soldier to anti-electronic measures, like GPS jamming. It would also monitor health conditions and coordinate activities among large groups of soldiers.
The devices will both provide a form of artificial night vision that optimally would detect with 90% accuracy a human-sized object 150 meters away with illumination just by starlight, and provide augmented overlays that will ultimately have to be readable across all lighting conditions.
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