In the standard military environment, soldiers don’t necessarily have consistent access to maps, information, health scores, enemy locations, and other essential details. Instead, these team members need to constantly refer to tablets and maps, which isn’t always a safe move.
To provide soldiers with the information they need to make better decisions, the Army has been working on a heads-up display capable of displaying useful information to soldiers within their current field of view. The latest attempt to drive this functionality from Microsoft is proving impressive. Indeed, experts believe that by the end of this year (2021), the Army will have brought more than 40,000 Integrated Visual Augmentation Systems into the field.
The IVAS AR system overlays translucent information onto a wearer’s field of view, providing information necessary for safer combat, without distracting wears. This technology follows on from the Land Warrior system in the 1990s that aimed to deliver the same functionality but was deemed too heavy and difficult to use.
Transforming the Battle Field
The success of the IVAS comes from its functionality, which uses the Microsoft HoloLens platform. This platform has already achieved significant commercial success for it’s user-friendly functionality. However, the HoloLens has previously suffered issues with limited fields of view, and lack of peripheral performance. The HoloLens 2 aims to overcome those issues, and the IVAS takes the functionality that Microsoft can offer even further.
To create this unique solution, Microsoft created a four-iteration development process, with each iteration adding new functionality and testing for user experience. The third iteration is still undergoing tests, with the fourth iteration on the horizon. Experts say the final version will come with a range of combat tools including night vision and thermal sensors, and aids for target acquisition. Language translation and 3D mapping features are also on the horizon.
The arrival of the new AR solution marks a significant change in the traditionally convoluted strategies used by the Army for developing crucial systems. Usually, by the time the army can experiment with a device, it’s much clunkier than similar devices available to consumers. The novel and agile process for developing the IVAS represents a modern shift for the army.
Staying on the Cutting Edge
As the Army continues to field and test the latest iterations of the IVAS, the technology promises soldiers a powerful future in field operations. This enhanced technology will provide access to crucial information on the battlefield that has the potential to improve productivity and safe lives. The system could rapidly change the way that the army approaches modern combat and make preserving life easier for our troops.
At the same time, it’s impressive how quickly the army has managed to develop the system and bring it into test mode. It seems that the military sector has finally begun to explore new ways of bringing cutting-edge opportunities into the world of battle before these tools become outdated and obsolete.
