TECH NEWS – In connection with IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System), the US Army wants a small discount from the Redmond-based company…
In 2021, Microsoft signed a $ 22 billion deal with the US Army to develop IVAS based on HoloLens technology to improve situational awareness, target detection and informed decision-making. There have been several pitfalls in the development, and now here’s the biggest one yet: is it all too expensive?
Bloomberg has reported that the military could order as many as 121,000 IVAS headsets, depending on the results of testing (expected to be completed by mid-2025). According to Doug Bush, the Army’s acquisition chief, they are seeing better results than they did in the early tests, and many of the issues that were previously problematic have since been ironed out. Except that the headset costs $80,000 each, and the Army wants a much lower price. That’s all inclusive, by the way.
Production costs are $42,000, but that includes Army program management and software support. Robin Seiler, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of mixed reality, says the company is now looking at how to reduce costs. He says it’s a complex system, so you have to look at the component level first, then at the labor level and the supply chain.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense said the IVAS program could waste up to $21.88 billion of taxpayer money because it is not yet clear whether soldiers will even use them in combat. This was justified, as Business Insider reported that year that complaints at the time included the size and weight of the headset, the loss of spatial vision, and the light it emitted, which could be seen from a distance and reveal the wearer’s location. In 2023, the U.S. Congress blocked the military’s plans to buy 6,900 IVAS headsets for $400 million and instead gave Microsoft another $40 million to develop a better device.
Microsoft recently halted production of the HoloLens 2, but told UploadVR that the company remains committed to developing IVAS.
Source: PCGamer,
