Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has received a task order from the U.S. Army to build a new variant of its HoloLens-based augmented reality headset.
The Integrated Visual Augmentation System comes with situational awareness tools meant to enable warfighters to rehearse, fight and train through a single device and the IVAS 1.2 variant will include software enhancements and feature a new form factor to address human systems integration and a new heads-up display for improved comfort and user interface, the office of the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology said in a LinkedIn post Thursday.
The service will place delivery orders for IVAS 1.2 production systems following the completion of qualification and operational tests and plans to begin incremental deployment in September 2023.
In March 2021, Microsoft secured a contract from the Army to transition IVAS from prototyping to the production and rapid fielding phase.
The Army has performed over 30 soldier test events and 100 technical subtests of IVAS, generating user feedback from more than 1,000 service personnel. The military branch is making improvements to IVAS through an iterative process and feedback from soldiers.
