Microsoft, Oculus Founder Making Combat Goggles for US Army

Microsoft is working with military tech firm Anduril on Microsoft’s upcoming military goggle product for the US Army, according to a post published Thursday.

Microsoft has been developing the hardware design for the army goggles for years already. Now, Anduril is integrating its Lattice software operating system into the wearable device. Lattice will be added to Microsoft’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) goggles, which have an array of sensors and cameras.

Palmer Luckey, founder of the now Meta-owned Oculus VR, started Anduril back in 2017 to provide weapons and technology for the US military. Luckey is now overseeing the project with Microsoft, according to the announcement.

“This project is my top priority at Anduril, and it has been for some time now,” Luckey said in a statement. “It’s one of the Army’s most critical programs being fielded in the near future, with the goal of getting the right data to the right people at the right time.”

Microsoft is updating its headset design to include Anduril’s sensors, which aim to help soldiers on the ground detect and track threats in real time.

“IVAS is more than the sum of its parts. 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,” said Microsoft Corporate VP of Mixed Reality Robin Seiler in a statement. “Our collaboration with Anduril to integrate their suite of critical sensors, along with their groundbreaking Lattice system into IVAS, demonstrates the transformative capability of this fighting goggle and will allow us to further expand the impact IVAS will have for every U.S. soldier.”

Microsoft has been working on its IVAS headset, also known as the HoloLens, since 2018 as part of a $480 million contract. In 2019, a group of Microsoft employees protested the project, stating that they did not want to “create technology for warfare and oppression.” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella defended the company’s military contract, calling it a “principled decision.”

The goggles were initially expected to release in 2021, but concerns over the bulky design delayed its launch.

If the US Army is pleased with Microsoft and Anduril’s product and it passes a number of tests, the army may buy up to 121,000 goggles, Bloomberg reports. If the headsets are put into action, Microsoft and Anduril could stand to gain as much as $21.9 billion over the course of a decade.